Copyright: Copyright 1994 Prism Elite Software


How To Topics
WTG! Help Contents

Introduction

How To

Change Button Size

Change Title bar

Change Toolbar Orientation

Work with Multiple configurations

Change the visibility of the timer

Change timer colors

Change information displayed on the timer

Create original custom graphics

Create toolbar buttons and changing button information

Change the positions of buttons in the toolbar

Create keyboard shortcuts

Make and modify menus

Minimize WAOL

Uninstall WTG

Menus, Keyboard, and Dialogs

Macros and Commands

Tools and Managers

Shareware and Ordering Information

About WTG and Help


Macro and Command Topics
WTG! Help Contents

Introduction

How To

Menus, Keyboard, and Dialogs

Macros and Commands

Alphabetical Command List

Command Groups

About Commands

About Macros

Macro Parameters

Field Codes

Distributing Macros to Others

Command Applicability

DDE Execution of WTG Commands

Tools and Managers

Shareware and Ordering Information

About WTG and Help


Macro Commands (By Function)
Command Groups

Alphabetical Listing of Commands

Text

AppendText

CaptureText

Copy

Cut

InsertText

Paste

SendKeys

SetText

Window

ActivateWindow

CloseWindow

MaximizeWindow

MinimizeWindow

RestoreWindow

Offline Messaging

DownloadForum

DownloadMail

WAOL  Interaction

ClickButton

ClickButtonNum

ClickList

ClickListString

ClickMenu

Exit

GotoKeyword

SelectEdit

SelectList

SelectListString

SignOff

SignOn

UploadFile

User Interactions

LocateMember

GetProfile

SendIM

SendMail

Sound and Graphics

Beep

DisplayFile

PlaySound

Log

CloseChatLog

CloseSessionLog

OpenChatLog

OpenSessionLog

Miscellaneous

Call

End

ErrorMode

MsgBox

Pause

RunProgram


Macro Commands (Alphabetical)
Alphabetical Commands

Command Listing by Category

ActivateWindow

AppendText

Beep

Call

CaptureText

ClickButton

ClickButtonNum

ClickList

ClickListString

ClickMenu

CloseChatLog

CloseSessionLog

CloseWindow

Copy

Cut

DisplayFile

DownloadForum

DownloadMail

End

ErrorMode

Exit

GetProfile

GotoKeyword

InsertText

LocateMember

MaximizeWindow

MinimizeWindow

MsgBox

OpenChatLog

OpenSessionLog

Paste

Pause

PlaySound

RestoreWindow

RunProgram

SelectEdit

SelectList

SelectListString

SendIM

SendKeys

SendMail

SetText

SignOff

SignOn

UploadFile


Dialog Topics
WTG! Help Contents

Introduction

How To

Menus, Keyboard, and Dialogs

Setup Menu

Help Menu

Timer Menu

Keyboard Shortcuts

Open Configuration

New Configuation

Save Configuration

Delete Configuration

List Manager

General Tab (Options Dialog)

Billing Tab (Options Dialog)

Global Tab (Options Dialog)

Toolbar Tab (Customize Dialog)

Menus Tab (Customize Dialog)

Keyboard Tab (Customize Dialog)

Menu Editor Dialog

Run Macro

Delete Macro

Macros and Commands

Tools and Managers

Shareware and Ordering Information

About WTG and Help


Contents
WTG! Help Contents

Introduction

How To

Menus, Keyboard, and Dialogs

Macros and Commands

Tools and Managers

Shareware and Ordering Information

About WTG and Help


Browser
WTG! Help Browser

Introduction

Overview

What's New

Converting from WTG 1.2 or other products

Using Wizards to build your new confguration

A brief note from the author

How To Articles

Menus, Keyboard, and Dialogs

Setup Menu

Help Menu

Timer Menu

Keyboard Shortcuts

Open Configuration

New Configuation

Save Configuration

Delete Configuration

List Manager

General Tab (Options Dialog)

Billing Tab (Options Dialog)

Global Tab (Options Dialog)

Toolbar Tab (Customize Dialog)

Menus Tab (Customize Dialog)

Keyboard Tab (Customize Dialog)

Menu Editor Dialog

Run Macro

Delete Macro

Macros and Commands

Alphabetical Command List

Command Groups

About Commands

About Macros

Macro Parameters

Field Codes

Distributing Macros to Others

Command Applicability

DDE Execution of WTG Commands

Tools and Managers

Macro Editor

Time and Billing Manager

Offline Manager

List Manager

Shareware and Ordering Information

Disclaimer

Support

What is Shareware?

Registration Information and Policies

Registration Form


Introduction Topics
WTG! Help Contents

Introduction

Overview

What's New

Converting from WTG 1.2 or other products

Using Wizards to build your new confguration

A brief note from the author

How To

Menus, Keyboard, and Dialogs

Macros and Commands

Tools and Managers

Shareware and Ordering Information

About WTG and Help


Shareware Topics
WTG! Help Contents

Introduction

How To

Menus, Keyboard, and Dialogs

Macros and Commands

Tools and Managers

Shareware and Ordering Information

Disclaimer

Support

What is Shareware?

Registration Information and Policies

Registration Form

About WTG and Help


Macro Editor Help

The Macro Editor is a multiple file text editor enhanced to provide assistance while constructing macros for WTG.  With these slight modifications, writing a macro becomes as simple as selecting options and filling in the blanks.  The assistance mechanism is very similar to the one used in WTG, so you can use your knowledge of WTG to construct macros.  For more information about what a macro is see About Macros.

The Macro Editor may be started by clicking on the Setup button and then on the Macro|Macro Editor menu item.

Macro Editor Menus

Using Syntax Assistance


Time and Billing Manager Help

With this billing assistant you can track all of your AOL expenses and look back over your records for each of your AOL sessions.  This Manager can provide time and money totals for each screen name each billing period.  Records are detailed, complete with time stamps, so you can monitor your transitions from the free area to the pay areas of AOL.  Remember that WTG will only record billing information if WTG is running during your AOL sessions.  Although it is nice to keep independent records of your billing information, remember that this billing information is in no way official.  Although a strong effort has been made to ensure that WTG billing information is accurate, Prism Elite Software will not be held responsible for any error in calculation.  Only AOL can provide you with your official bill, and AOL officials may not look upon your WTG logs as justification for compensation.  See the Disclaimer for more information.  The Time and Billing Manager is generally accurate on each session, less than a minute from the official time.  Even this small error can grow if you use AOL frequently.  The monthly total is an estimate only, it may not read exactly the same as your bill.  WTG can give you a general indicator of you spending, not an accurate to the cent total.

The Time and Billing Manager may be started by clicking on the Setup button and then on the Time and Billing Manager menu item.

Time and Billing Manager Menus

Using the Billing Information Window

Adjusting Billing Manager Totals


Offline Manager Help

The Offline Manager is perhaps the most requested feature in WTG.  WAOL provides no mechanism to retrieve your forum messages and read them offline.  Using the powerful message capture functionality of WTG, you can read your messages knowing that you can read carefully without worrying about the money you are spending.  Although no mechanism is provided to respond to messages, you may write E-Mail offline using WAOL.  Uploading messages to AOL forums is simply not technically possible at this time, because of the complexity and diversity of the AOL message boards.  Hopefully you will find offline reading to be enjoyable, it has been a long time in coming.  Offline Manager has been designed to capture all of the different types of AOL message boards, including threaded and Internet newsgroups.  Should you find a particular board that doesn't work properly, please contact Prism Elite Software so that we can fix the problem.  The AOL message structure is in a state of flux and difficult to automate, but not impossible as you shall see,

The Offline Manager may be started by clicking on the Setup button and then on the Offline Manager menu item.

Important Notes about Offline Manager: You must type your password into the stored password dialog so that Offline Manager can automatically sign on without prompting you.  To set your password in WAOL, click on the Members|Set Prefrences menu item and click the Password button to display the passwords box.  Enter the password for the appropiate screen name and click OK.  If you do not enter your password in WAOL, you will be prompted for it.  So that your message retrieval session is not interrupted, you should turn off network news when you use Offline Manager to download mail.  To turn off Newtork News, click on the General button in the prefrences window and Clear the box for "Notify Me of Network News".

Offline Manager Menus

Defining Forums

Retrieving Messages

Viewing messages


Tools Topics
WTG! Help Contents

Introduction

How To

Menus, Keyboard, and Dialogs

Macros and Commands

Tools and Managers

Macro Editor

Time and Billing Manager

Offline Manager

List Manager

Shareware and Ordering Information

About WTG and Help


About WTG

Help File Written and Designed by Chris Hill

"One ship drives east and another drives west

With the selfsame winds that blow.

'Tis the set of sails and not the gales

Which tells us the way to go."

- Winds of Fate

  Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919)

WTG! Programming and Design by Tim Hill

C Programming and Technical Assistance: Chris Hill

Additional Help: Mark Gamber

Graphics Designed by "Mr Howse" and Tim Hill

Special thanks to all beta testers.

Copyright 1994 Prism Elite Software, Tim Hill, and Chris Hill


About Commands

A command is a single action that WTG will take as the result of your input.  A command does something, perhaps goes to a keyword or locates your friends online.  It is important to realize that a command is often available from different types of input.  Commands are available from WTG buttons, WTG menus, or even keyboard shortcuts.

Each command has a name and may require additional information to perform its task.  The name of each command has been carefully chosen to convey the action that it takes.  The GotoKeyword command, you guessed it, instructs WTG to take AOL to a specified keyword.  If the name is less clear, look for the command in this help file.  This file contains a complete description of each command in detail.  The keyword is information that this particular command, GotoKeyword, needs to execute.  WTG must know where you want to go before it can take you there!  Some commands may require more than one parameter and others may require no additional information.

Whenever you are making a command you first supply the name of the command that you want to execute.  Once it knows what command you are using,  WTG will help you by asking for each piece of information required by that command in a separate dialog.  Wizards simplify this process further by asking initial questions to determine which command you may want to use, even if you are not familiar enough with WTG to know the command by name.

To combine commands use a macro.  See the About Macros topic for more information.

Although most commands are available through all types of input, some are restricted to only one or two types of input.  For a list of commands available through each type of input, see the Command Applicability topic.


About Macros

A macro is a list of commands that are executed in order.  The list of commands groups the commands and makes it possible to execute more complex tasks than are possible by using a single command.

Macros are constructed using the Macro Editor provided by WTG.  The Macro Editor offers syntax assistance similar to the interface that is used to configure buttons or menus.  For more information about using the Macro Editor, see the Macro Editor help topics.

Once you have written a macro, it is like you have created your own macro command.  Instead of specifying the name of a built-in command, use Run Macro to execute your macro.  The only information needed is the name of the macro to execute, and possibly some user defined parameters.  Like a command, a macro may be assigned to a variety of interfaces such as buttons, menus, and the keyboard.


Field Codes

Field Codes are special character sequences that are used in string command parameters.  As WTG evaluates a command it will search each string parameter and replace the field code with the corresponding information.  All Field Codes have a prefix of the percent symbol ("%").  A list of field codes is below.

%DATE	The current date as reported by the local system real time clock.  The date is in the format "m/d/yy".

%ENTER	A carriage return, line feed combination.  These characters have the ASCII values 10 and 13 respectively.

%FDATE	The current date as reported by the local system real time clock.  The date is in the format "mmddyy".  This is useful for naming files with the current date.

%FREETIME	The amount of time in the current session that has been spent in the free areas of AOL.  The time is in the format "hh:mm:ss"

%LINEFEED	The ASCII value 10.

%PAYTIME	The amount of time in the current session that has been spent in the pay areas of AOL. The time is in the format "hh:mm:ss"

%REGCOMPANY	The company that WTG is registered with.

%REGNAME	The name that WTG is registered with.

%RETURN	The ASCII Value 13.

%SCREENNAME  Screen Name of the member who is currently online.

%SELECTED	Corresponds to the current text selection in the current text field in WAOL.

%TIME	The current time as reported by the local system real time clock.  The time is either in the "h:mm:ss" (24 hour format) or "h:mm:ss a/p" (12 hour format), depending on the timer options selected in the Options Dialog General Tab.

%TIMEONLINE  Amount of time in the spent online during the current AOL session.  This time is of the format "hh:mm:ss"

%WAOLDIR	The directory in which WAOL is located (without a trailing backslash).

%WTGDIR	The directory in which WTG is located (without a trailing backslash).

%WTGVER	The current version number of WTG, in the form "x.x".


Distributing Macros to Others

When you become proficient in making WTG macros, you may discover that you have created a macro that others will find useful.  If you distribute the macro to them then they will not need to invent their own macro to accomplish the task of your macro.

Before you distribute a macro to others you may want to consider a couple of aspects of your macro.  Have you provided comments so that the potential recipient of the macro can understand and modify the macro for his own needs?  Is it possible to modify your macro to accept parameters that it will act upon?  For example, if your macro IMs your friend online, you may want to use a parameter to the macro to determine which member receives the IM.  When someone else uses your macro they may not want to IM your friend, but instead a friend of their own.  Imagine your friend's reaction when he sees a tremendous increase in the amount of messages that he receives!  See the information about comments and parameters located elsewhere in this file.

All you need to do to give your friends your macro files is transfer the file from your \WTG\MACROS directory to the \WTG\MACROS directory on your friend's computer.


Comments

Comments have no effect on the execution of your macro,  they are simply used as notation to keep notes about the macro.  If you return to work on a macro after a month or two, you may not remember the purpose of a command if you are forced to look at the command itself.  If you saw an note in English, it would be much easier to remember what the macro does.  You can also record information such as when you made the macro or your name if you plan to distribute your macro to others.  The Macro Editor has the ability to insert a group of standard comments as a template for you to fill.

A comment can be specified by placing "REM" or an apostrophe "'" at the beginning of the line.  The remaining contents of the line with the comment marker will be ignored by WTG as it executes your macro commands.

Example:

REM This is a comment, WTG doesn't care what you type here!

' This is another from of a comment


Macro Parameters

User defined WTG macros can be executed using parameters.  Parameters are pieces of information that will be used in the body of the macro.  The parameters may be used like a string or numeric constant within the macro body.

The parameters are referred to as %CMD1, %CMD2, %CMD3....

For example, you may want a macro that sends a happy birthday instant message to any specified member.  You could pass a screen name parameter and then use it in the SendIM command:

SendIM "%CMD1", "Happy Birthday!"

Notice that WTG will take whatever screen name you used for the parameter and use it for the SendIM command.  The following shows how to use the Call command to execute the above macro assuming it is named "BIRTHDAY".

Call "BIRTHDAY","JohnDoe"


Command Applicability

Some of the macros are not available on every input method.  The following is a summary of such commands.

Macro Files - All commands apply

Keyboard, Buttons, and Menus exclude the following commands:

End

Call

Pause


DDE Execution of WTG commands

All of the macro commands that are available in WTG may also be accessed by other programs via DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange).  To use DDE with your language, refer to the documentation that came with your development tools.  WTG supports a DDE execute operation.  The link topic should be WTG|Macro.  Just execute one WTG command at a time, since WTG does not support execution of multiple commands at the same time.  An example of DDE using Visual Basic is available for registered users of WTG.


ClickButtonNum command
ClickButtonNum

Purpose

Clicks a button by the order it is placed on a WAOL window, normally a button that does not respond to ClickButton.

Syntax

ClickButtonNum nButton

Parameters

nButton	Specifies the number of the button to be clicked.  This command should only be used to click buttons that ClickButton cannot click.  One such button type is a button that contains a picture, even though it may contain what appears to be text.  These buttons are assigned a number based on the order in which they can be navigated using the tab key.  The first button that can be reached using the tab key would be 1 and the next button reached using the tab key is number two.

Comments

Because WAOL uses some special buttons,  they must be clicked by number.  Although text may appear on the face of the button, WTG is not able to access it.  Included in this class are the picture buttons.  For some picture buttons there may be an associated text label (often located near the button), and in this case it is better to use ClickButton.  ClickButtonNum is provided only as a last resort after ClickButton fails to click the button.  ClickButton is much easier to use because it accepts the button text rather than an awkward number.

Example

ClickButtonNum 1

Clicks the first button.


DownloadForum command
DownloadForum

Purpose

Automatically downloads forum messages to an offline folder.

Syntax

DownloadForum nScreenName, sForumName, sKeyword, sRoute, nThreaded, sTopics, sFolders

Parameters

nScreenName	The number (from 1 to 5) that represents the position of the screen name within the WAOL Sign On dialog.

sForumName	The name of the Offline Manager folder to place the messages in.  This name is used to describe the messages, but does not need to match the name of an existing offline folder.

sKeyword	The keyword to use to go to the forum.

sRoute	A route is the information WTG uses to find the message board within the forum.  The route consists of a series of text strings.  Each is used to click on a button or a list box item.  The list is delimited by the pipe character.  WTG will first look for a list box item with the specified text and if it does not find one, will proceed to look for a command button with matching text.  When it finds a match it will click on it.  To change this behavior to look for a button before a list box item, insert an at symbol (@) before the string.  If you want to click a button by its number or order, insert a number symbol (#) before the string. By clicking on your specified items, WTG eventually will reach the message forum.

nThreaded	Informs WTG that the forum you wish to retrieve is a threaded board.  A threaded message board is a board that can have replies connected to specific messages.  If 0, it is not a threaded board.  If it is non-zero, it is a threaded board.  WTG must know this to properly download the messages.  If a threaded board is inside a normal board (or vice versa), the command may not function properly.

sTopics	A list of pipe character separated topics to download.  If this text is "" (empty string) then all topics will be downloaded.  These topics are items within the first list that WTG sees upon entering the message board.

sFolders	A list of pipe character separated folders to download.  Folders, which are different than topics, are the most specific category before actual messages.  For example, in the Windows forum, Way To Go! Support is a folder which is in the Shareware topic.  If this text is "" then all folders within the topics specified in sTopics  will be downloaded.

Comments

You must be online when this command is issued. To view the downloaded messages, use the Offline Manager. See the SignOn command for details regarding signon using macro commands.  Enclosing this command within in a SignOn/SignOff pair creates a macro that retrieves your messages.  It is recommended that you turn instant messages off to ensure they do not interfere with the message transfer.

Note that the Offline Manager can accomplish this task without using a macro command.

Example

DownloadForum 1, "Windows - WTG", "win", "@Message|Find New", 0, "Shareware","Way To Go"

Downloads the Way To Go! Support folder from the Shareware topic of the Windows forum message boards.  The messages are placed in a forum folder titled "Windows - WTG".


DownloadMail command
DownloadMail

Purpose

Retrieves E-Mail and stores it to an offline folder.

Syntax

DownloadMail nScreenName

Parameters

nScreenName	The number (from 1 to 5)  that represents the position of the screen name within the WAOL sign on dialog.

Comments

You must be online when this command is issued. To view the downloaded mail, use the Offline Manager.  See the SignOn command for details regarding signon using macro commands.  Enclosing this command within in a SignOn/SignOff pair creates a macro that retrieves your mail. Note that the Offline Manager can accomplish this task without using a macro command.

Example

DownloadMail 1

Downloads mail into the folder of the member whose screen name appears first in the WAOL sign on screen.


ErrorMode command
ErrorMode

Purpose

Enables or disables error prompts.

Syntax

ErrorMode nEnable

Parameters

nEnable	If this number is 0 (zero) then the macro error prompts will be disabled.  If the number is non-zero, the prompts will be enabled.  The current error state will persist until ErrorMode is used again, a new macro is run with the Call command, or until the current macro finishes executing.

Comments

The default error mode is enabled, prompts will appear after an error.  Although error prompts are generally useful, it may be beneficial to temporarily disable the error prompt to attempt an operation that is prone to failure in one way but that will succeed if called another way.  Use this command with caution, because it will not inform you of problems and it may appear that the macro is not doing anything.  Be sure to restore the error mode after the questionable section has completed so that it does not affect the remainder of the macro.  An important example is provided below.  WTG does not currently provide a method to respond to command failures, so this is the only way that errors can be handled.

Example

ErrorMode 0

ActivateWindow " Instant Message"

ActivateWindow ">Instant Message"

ErrorMode 1

Because the Instant Message window of WAOL changes title depending on the message status, it is impossible to activate it without causing an error.  One of the ActivateWindow commands will fail, but the other will succeed.  Because the commands are enclosed in ErrorMode statements the macro can continue with the window activated.  This example was the motivation for the ErrorMode command.


ClickMenu command
ClickMenu

Purpose

Selects an AOL command from the WAOL menu system.

Syntax

ClickMenu sMenuText

Parameters

sMenuText	The text of the menu to select.  The text is case insensitive.  This need not be the entire text of the menu, only enough to distinguish it from the other menu selections.  For example, using "S" would not be sufficient because WAOL has many items starting with the letter S (Save , Save As..., Stop Incoming Text, Select All, etc.).  Similarly "Print" would not be a wise choice, both "Print" and "Print Setup..." begin with that character combination.  In the event of more than one match,  the item selected will be determined by the search order of WTG. WTG searches from left to right on the menu bar and from top to bottom on each submenu.  The first match will be selected. The first menu item WTG checks is "New" and the last is "About America Online".

Comments

This command is useful for selecting commands from the menus, but before using it other possibilities should examined.  WTG provides many AOL commands through its own macro commands.  For example, the WTG macro command Exit could be used in place of a ClickMenu command using "Exit" as the text.

Example

ClickMenu "About"

Displays the WAOL about dialog by clicking the "About America Online..." menu item in the WAOL Help menu.


ClickList command
ClickList

Purpose

Double clicks a list box item by its position within the list.

Syntax

ClickList nItem

Parameters

nItem	The position of the list box item to select.  The first item in the list box is number 1.  This number must be less than or equal to the number of items within the list box.

Comments

The list box must be within the active WAOL child window.  To click a list item by specifying the text instead of the position within the list, use the ClickListString command.  AOL makes extensive use of list boxes.  This command allows navigation through folders and lists.  This command would commonly be used to maneuver around a specific part of AOL after jumping to it using GotoKeyword to go to an area.

Example

ClickList 2

Double clicks the second item of the listbox in the active WAOL child window.


ClickButton command
ClickButton

Purpose

Clicks most types of buttons.  Buttons types include: push buttons, picture buttons, check boxes, and option buttons.

Syntax

ClickButton sButtonText

Parameters

sButtonText	The text of the button to click.  The text is case insensitive.  It does not need to be the entire text of the button, only enough to distinguish it from the other buttons in the active window.  The location of this text is different depending on which kind of button is being selected.  If one of the characters in the text is underlined, try putting the And character "&" before the letter that is underlined.  If you find that this command does not work for a particular button, try the ClickButtonNum command.

Below is a summary of different kinds of WAOL buttons.

A command button is a button which contains text.  Clicking on it carries out an action.  The text is located within the button itself.

A picture button is used to carry out an action.  Unlike the other three types of buttons, the text is usually located directly below the picture.

A check box is used to indicate a true/false or yes/no option.  The text generally is located to the right of the check box itself.

An option button is used to select from a group of options.  The text is located to the right, similar to the check box.

Comments

The button must be within the active child window.

Many times a dialog will contain option buttons or push buttons.  This command can handle many of the different types of buttons making it very flexible.  If this command does not click a button, try the ClickButtonNum command.

Example

ClickButton "Message"

Clicks the button with text starting with "Message".


End command
End

Purpose

Ends macro execution.

Syntax

End

Parameters

This command has no parameters.

Comments

Everything following this command in a macro will be ignored.  This is often useful for ignoring large sections of code when creating a macro.


SelectEdit command
SelectEdit

Purpose

Gives the input focus to a text box in the active child window.

Syntax

SelectEdit nEditField

Parameters

nEditField	Number of the edit field to select.  AOL windows are numbered by the order in which they can be navigated using the Tab key.

Comments

This command is helpful in filling out forms which require text entry.  Using this command  ensures that the desired edit field is selected before proceeding.  It can be used with SendKeys, although SetText, InsertText and AppendText can often do this job more easily.

Example

SelectEdit 7

Moves the input to the 7th edit field on the active WAOL child window.


DisplayFile command
DisplayFile

Purpose

Displays a  file in the WAOL window for a specified period of time.

Syntax

DisplayFile sFilename, nSecondsToDisplay

Parameters

sFilename	The filename of a valid file to be displayed.  Valid file types TXT, ART, BMP, TIFF, JPEG, PCX and GIF.

nSecondsToDisplay  Number of seconds to display the file.  If this number is zero then the window will remain open until it is closed.

Comments

This command can be used to add a bit of jazz to macros.

Example

DisplayFile "c:\windows\winlogo.bmp",10

Shows the bitmap file winlogo.bmp for ten seconds.


Call command
Call

Purpose

Executes another macro from within the current macro.

Syntax

Call sMacroName, sParam1, sParam2,...,sParam9

Parameters

sMacroName	The Name of the macro to execute.  The macro will run the macro named sMacroName until its completion upon which the execution will return to the macro which issued the Call command.  Do not specify the path of the macro, only the name of the macro.  All macros must be executed from the \WTG\MACROS directory, making a full path unnecessary.

sParamX	These optional text parameters may contain information to be used in the commands of the called macro.  For further information, see Macro Parameters.

Comments

Be careful when using this command that you do not call too many macros from within each other.  There is a limit of 16 macros that may be executed at the same time.

This command can be used with macros which perform a task common to many macros.  For example, a frequently used message board may be accessed from more than one macro.  By placing the commands that move to the message board in a secondary macro, it may be called from both macros.  It is like creating a personal macro command.

Example

Call "happybd","PrismElite"

Executes the "happybd.wtg" macro, passing PrismElite as a parameter.


Pause command
Pause

Purpose

Temporarily suspends macro execution for a specified amount of time.

Syntax

Pause nSecsToPause

Parameters

nSecsToPause  The number of seconds to suspend macro execution.  This number can be a fraction of a second, such as .25 or .5.

Comments

A pause can be used as time period for the user to view macro results before continuing.

Example

Pause 5

Suspends macro execution for five seconds.


Beep command
Beep

Purpose

Sounds the default Windows beep or one of the Windows system sounds.

Syntax

Beep nBeepType

Parameters

nBeepType	The type of beep to sound.  These sounds are easily changed in the Windows system control panel.  All of the options require sound hardware or a PC speaker driver.  The only exception is PC Speaker which simply beeps the system speaker.  The following list summarizes the options:

Type of Sound	Parameter Value
PC Speaker	1
Normal	2
Stop	3
Question	4
Exclamation	5
Information	6

Comments

This command can be used as an attention getting device.  It may be useful to terminate a long macro with a beep to inform of completion of the macro.

Example

Beep 1

Beeps the system speaker.


SelectList command
SelectList

Purpose

Selects the given list box item.  The highlight will fall upon the specified item after this command.  This is not the same as ClickList, which performs a double click of a list box item.

Syntax

SelectList nItem

Parameters

nItem	The number of the list box item to highlight.  The first item in the list box is number 1.  This number must be between 1 and the number of items in the listbox, inclusive.

Comments

This function is useful when a list box, button click combination is necessary.  First select the desired item using SelectList  and then use ClickButton to initiate the action.   To select an item by specifying its text rather than its position in the list, use the SelectListString command.

Example

SelectList 2

Selects the second item in the listbox on the active WAOL child window.


PlaySound command
PlaySound

Purpose

Plays a standard Windows WAV file.

Syntax

PlaySound sWavFilename

Parameters

sWavFilename  The filename of the sound to be played.  The full path must be given unless the file is in the path.

Comments

Using this command can make a macro more lively, indicate macro completion or other status messages.

Example

PlaySound "c:\windows\tada.wav"

Plays the tada.wav sound.


RunProgram command
RunProgram

Purpose

Executes a program or launch an application associated with a file.

Syntax

RunProgram sFilename, nWindowState

Parameters

sFilename	The filename of an executable file or file with association to an application.  The filename must include the directory unless the file is in the path.

nWindowState	The desired form of the application window upon launch.  Although this has an effect on most applications, some will ignore it.  The possible values are summarized below.

Window State	Parameter Value
Normal	1
Minimized	2
Maximized	3

Comments

This command is useful for starting an application that may be helpful while online.  Some examples include a decompression program for downloaded files or another WAOL add-on.

Example

RunProgram "notepad.exe", 1

Starts the Windows notepad applet, in a normal window.


SendIM command
SendIM

Purpose

Sends an instant message to a specified member.

Syntax

SendIM sMemberName, sMessage

Parameters

sMemberName  The screen name of the member to send the IM to. If this parameter is an empty string ("") then a blank IM window will be displayed.

sMessage	Message text for the instant message.  If this parameter is an empty string ("") then an IM window will be displayed with a blank message text section.  The message text must then be filled before sending manually at some time in the future.

Example

SendIM "PrismElite","Happy New Year!"

Sends a message welcoming Prism Elite Software to the new year.


MsgBox command
MsgBox

Purpose

Displays a standard Windows message box with a specified title, message and icon type.

Syntax

MsgBox sMessageText, nIconType, sTitle

Parameters

sMessageText  The message text to be displayed.

nIconType	There are several types of icons available to be displayed.  In addition to the type of icon, this parameter will determine the sound, if any, to be played at the same time the message box appears.  The following list summarizes the possibilities:

Icon	Sound	Parameter Value
(none)	(none)	0
	Stop	16
	Question	32
	Exclamation	48
	Information	64
sTitle	The text to be displayed in the title bar of the message box.  This could be used to show the general nature of the message.

Example

MsgBox "Extremely long macro ahead!", 48, "Warning"

Shows a message box with the title of Warning and an Exclamation icon.


SignOff command
SignOff

Purpose

Disconnects from the AOL service.

Syntax

SignOff

Parameters

This command has no parameters.

Comments

Enclosing a group of commands inside a SignOn/SignOff pair in a macro allows for a completely automated online session.  Using this method, large macros may run unattended for long periods of time and use SignOff to end the unattended session.


SignOn command
SignOn

Purpose

Connects to the AOL service.

Syntax

SignOn nScreenName, nAttempts

Parameters

nScreenName	The number of the screen name to use to log-on.  This number represents the position of the screen name within the combo box in the WAOL sign-on screen.  The first number is 1 which represents the first screen name in the listbox.  Using 0 for this parameter signs on using the currently selected screen name.

nAttempts	The number of times to attempt to connect America Online if the connection fails.  Only one attempt will be made if this parameter is not specified or 0. (Note: For each attempt in WTG, WAOL will call the two numbers you specify in the Location Setup dialog box.)

Comments

SignOn does not sign on automatically unless you provide WAOL with your password.   Instead, it prompts you for your password prior to signing on.  Edit your WAOL passwords by clicking the Passwords button in the WAOL preferences window.  Enclosing a group of commands inside a SignOn/SignOff pair in a macro allows a completely automated online session.  Using this method, large macros may run unattended for long periods of time and use SignOff to end the unattended session.

Example

SignOn 1

Connects to AOL using the first screen name in the sign-on window.


UploadFile command
UploadFile

Purpose

Sends a file to the AOL host computer.

Syntax

UploadFile sSubject, sAuthor, sEquipment, sNeeds, sFile, sDescriptionFile, nCloseWindow

Parameters

sSubject	The kind of file being uploaded.  For example, for a graphic file this would be "Graphic".

sAuthor	The author of the file being uploaded.

sEquipment	Any special hardware necessary to execute or otherwise utilize the file.

sNeeds	Special software required to make use of the file.

sFile	The filename of the file to upload as it exists in the local file system.  It should include the full path if necessary.

sDescriptionFile  The filename of a text file containing a full description of the file to be uploaded.

nCloseWindow  A numeric parameter that allows the upload file window to either remain open or be closed after the file transfer has been completed.  The following table summarizes:

Action	Parameter Value
Close	1
Leave Window Open	0

Comments

The Upload File window must be shown in order to use this command.  This function is targeted towards AOL forum staff and others who frequently upload in large quantities.  It allows large batch upload jobs to be executed unattended.

Example

UploadFile "Flight Simulator","FlightSoft","486+ 8 meg ram","Windows 3.1","c:\download\flight.zip","Awesome flight simulation!!!",1

Uploads a spiffy new flight simulator to AOL.


AppendText command
AppendText

Purpose

Appends text to the end of the text in the specified WAOL text box.

Syntax

AppendText sAppendText, nEditField

Parameters

sAppendText	The text to be appended to the end of the current text.

nEditField	The number of the edit field in which to append the text.  WAOL edit fields are numbered in the order in which they can be navigated using the tab key.  Specifying  0 for this parameter will append the text to the currently selected edit field.

Comments

This command is useful for adding a special signature or tagline to the end of a message or E-Mail.  In fact, any bit of text that is used frequently is a use for this function.

Example

AppendText "Thank You", 0

Appends "Thank You" to the end of the text  in the current text field.


InsertText command
InsertText

Purpose

Inserts text at the current cursor position in the specified WAOL text box.

Syntax

InsertText sInsertText, nEditField

Parameters

sInsertText	The text to be inserted at the current cursor position.

nEditField	The number of the edit field in which to insert the text.  WAOL edit fields are numbered in the order in which they can be navigated using the tab key.  Specifying  0 for this parameter will insert the text into the currently selected edit field.

Example

InsertText "PrismElite said:", 1

Inserts the text "PrismElite said:" at the current cursor location in the first text box in the current child window.


SetText command
SetText

Purpose

Sets the text of the specified WAOL text box.

Syntax

SetText sSetText, nEditField

Parameters

sSetText	The text to place in the text box.  This text will replace any existing text.

nEditField	The number of the edit field in which to set the text.  WAOL edit fields are numbered in the order in which they can be navigated using the tab key.  Specifying  0 for this parameter will append the text to the currently selected edit field.

Example

SetText "New Text", 0

Replaces the contents of the current edit field (if any) with "New Text".


ActivateWindow command
ActivateWindow

Purpose

Activates a WAOL child window.

Syntax

ActivateWindow sWindowTitle

Parameters

sWindowTitle	The text in the title bar of the child window to be activated.  The text is case insensitive and need not be the entire title.  The text should be long enough to distinguish between similar window titles such as "Welcome to AOL" and "Welcome to the Windows Forum".   For example, if the window "Welcome to AOL" is to be activated "Welcome to A" is sufficient.

Comments

This command is used in complex macros that may need to work with different windows.  Note that when AOL causes a new window to be displayed it automatically activates that window.   This command could then be used to restore the desired window to an active state.

Example

ActivateWindow "Welcome"

Activates the Welcome to AOL! window.


CloseWindow command
CloseWindow

Purpose

Closes a WAOL child window.

Syntax

CloseWindow sWindowTitle

Parameters

sWindowTitle	The text in the title bar of the child window to be closed.  The text is not case sensitive and need not be the entire title.  The text should be long enough to distinguish between similar window titles such as "Welcome to AOL" and "Welcome to the Windows Forum".   For example, if the window "Welcome to AOL" is to be activated "Welcome to A" is sufficient.  If the text is "" (empty string) then the currently active window will be closed.

Comments

To avoid clutter within the WAOL window it may be necessary to use the CloseWindow command to remove any unneeded windows from the screen.  In fact, if WAOL begins to run low on memory it may ask you to close some windows.

Example

CloseWindow "Untitled"

Closes the window with the title Untitled.


MaximizeWindow command
MaximizeWindow

Purpose

Maximizes a WAOL child window to fill the entire WAOL window.

Syntax

MaximizeWindow sWindowTitle

Parameters

sWindowTitle	The text in the title bar of the child window to be maximized.  The text is case insensitive and need not be the entire title.  The text should be long enough to distinguish between similar window titles such as "Welcome to AOL" and "Welcome to the Windows Forum".   For example, if the window "Welcome to AOL" is to be activated "Welcome to A" is sufficient. If the text is "" (empty string) then the currently active window will be maximized.

Comments

The MaximizeWindow command is useful to enlarge a particular window so that its contents can be viewed in their entirety.  It also serves to eliminate, or at least hide, the clutter of the WAOL screen.  The RestoreWindow command can be used to return the window to its original state.

Example

MaximizeWindow "Windows Forum"

Maximizes the Windows Forum window.


MinimizeWindow command
MinimizeWindow

Purpose

Minimizes a WAOL child window to its iconic state.

Syntax

MinimizeWindow sWindowTitle

Parameters

sWindowTitle	The text in the title bar of the child window to be minimized.  The text is case insensitive and need not be the entire title.  The text should be long enough to distinguish between similar window titles such as "Welcome to AOL" and "Welcome to the Windows Forum".   For example, if the window "Welcome to AOL" is to be activated "Welcome to A" is sufficient. If the text is "" (empty string) then the currently active window will be minimized.

Comments

This command can be used to eliminate the clutter associated with numerous windows in WAOL.  The iconic form of the window consumes much less space.  The RestoreWindow command can be used to restore the window to its original state.

Example

MinimizeWindow "Welcome"

Minimizes the Welcome window.


RestoreWindow command
RestoreWindow

Purpose

Returns a WAOL child window to its normal state.

Syntax

RestoreWindow sWindowTitle

Parameters

sWindowTitle	The text in the title bar of the child window to be restored.  The text is case insensitive and need not be the entire title.  The text should be long enough to distinguish between similar window titles such as "Welcome to AOL" and "Welcome to the Windows Forum".   For example, if the window "Welcome to AOL" is to be activated "welcome to a" is sufficient. If the text is "" (empty string) then the currently active window will be restored.

Comments

This command is often used in conjunction with MinimizeWindow and MaximizeWindow.  RestoreWindow will restore the window after one of those commands.

Example

RestoreWindow "Welcome"

Restores the Welcome window.


Exit command
Exit

Purpose

Closes the WAOL software and WTG, logging off of AOL if necessary.

Syntax

Exit

Parameters

This command has no parameters.

Comments

This function is equivalent to closing WAOL using the system menu.


GotoKeyword command
GotoKeyword

Purpose

Navigates AOL using a keyword.

Syntax

GotoKeyword sKeyword

Parameters

sKeyword	This text parameter is the keyword to jump to.  This command will bypass enter or exit free area prompts if needed.

Comments

This command is used to get to a general area on AOL.  Many areas have keywords, making it easy to get around AOL.  After arriving at the general area, other commands may be used to arrive at the correct destination.  For example, the keyword "Windows" could be used to go to the Windows forum and then other commands such a ClickList or ClickButton could be used to retrieve information.

Example

GotoKeyword "MHM"

Goes to the keyword MHM, which stands for Members Helping Members.


GetProfile command
GetProfile

Purpose

Retrieves an AOL member profile about specified member(s).

Syntax

GetProfile sMemberList

Parameters

sMemberList	This parameter is a comma delimited list of the members' screen names to retrieve profiles for.  If the text is "" (empty string), then a dialog will prompt you for members' screen names. The %SELECTED field code is useful with this command.

Comments

A members profile is a good way to find about an unknown member online.  Remember that this information is supplied by the member and is not necessarily reliable.

Example

GetProfile "PrismElite"

Gets the member profile of the user with the screen name "PrismElite".


LocateMember command
LocateMember

Purpose

Determines the current online location of the specified member or members.

Syntax

LocateMember sMemberList

Parameters

sMemberList	This parameter is a comma delimited list of the members to locate.  If the text is "" (empty string), then a dialog will prompt you for members' screen names.  The results of the search for these members will be displayed in a dialog box.  The %SELECTED field code is useful with this command.

Comments

This command is useful for locating a group of members all at the same time.  Since it is often desirable to check on the same members periodically, this command is a real time saver.

Example

LocateMember "PrismElite, SteveCase"

Displays the current online location of the members with the screen names PrismElite and SteveCase.


SendMail command
SendMail

Purpose

Sends or displays an E-Mail form with the specified information.

Syntax

SendMail sTo, sCC, sSubject, sMessageFile, sFileAttachment, nAutoSend

Parameters

sTo	A string containing the screen name(s) of the member(s) to whom the e-mail message will be sent.

sCC	The member(s) who will receive a carbon copy of the e-mail message.  This parameter does not necessarily need to contain any screen names.  To indicate that no carbon copies will be sent, use "" (the empty string) for this parameter.

sSubject	The subject of the message.

sMessaageFile  The filename of the text file in which the message body text to be sent is stored.

sFileAttachment  The filename of the file, if any, to be sent as an attachment to the e-mail.  If no file is to be sent, use "".

nSend	Determines if WTG will send the e-mail after filling the form, or leave it on screen for sending at a later time.  The possible values are listed below:

Action	Value
Send the message	1
Do not send the message	0

Comments

This command is useful if you send periodic e-mail to the same group of people.  You can maintain a text file on disk that will be changed for each new update.   When you run the command with the new text file, the new E-Mail will be sent.

Example

SendMail "PrismElite","","Check is in the mail!",prism.txt,"",1

Sends mail to the screen name PrismElite with a subject "Check is in the mail!" and the attached file "prism.txt".


CaptureText command
CaptureText

Purpose

Saves the text from the active window to a file.

Syntax

CaptureText sFilename, nOptions

Parameters

sFilename	The filename of the file that the text from the active window is written to.  If omitted, the output file will be named in the format "mmddyy.wri", where mm is the month, dd is the day of the month, and yy is the last two numbers in the year.

sOptions	Determines how the file is to be handled if there is already a file named the same as sFilename (the above parameter).  The options are in the table below:

Action	Value
Overwrite Existing File	0
Append to Existing File	1

Comments

This command captures text from whatever active text window is on the screen.

Example

CaptureText "MAGAZINE.TXT", 0

Saves the text from the active screen to a file named MAGAZINE.TXT.


ClickListString command
ClickListString

Purpose

Double clicks a list box item by using the given text of the item.

Syntax

ClickListString sItemText

Parameters

sItemText	The text of the item to double click.  It is case insensitive and does not need to be the complete text of the item, only enough to distinguish it from the other list box entries.  In the case of an ambiguity (where there is more than one possible match), the item closest to the top of the list will be double clicked.

Comments

The list box must be within the active WAOL child window.  AOL makes extensive use of list boxes.  This command allows navigation through folders and lists.  This command would commonly be used to maneuver around a specific part of AOL after jumping to it using GotoKeyword to go to an area.

Example

ClickListString "Special"

Double clicks on the item in the list whose text starts with "Special".


CloseChatLog command
CloseChatLog

Purpose

Closes the WAOL chat log, if any, that  is currently open.

Syntax

CloseChatLog

Parameters

This command has no parameters.

Comments

To open the chat log from a macro, use the OpenChatLog command.


Copy command
Copy

Purpose

Copies the selected text or graphic in the active WAOL child window to the Windows Clipboard

Syntax

Copy

Parameters

This command has no parameters

Comments

The copy command will leave the selected text after the operation.  To remove the text after copying use the Cut command. Once the text is on the clipboard the Paste command may be used to put the text back into WAOL.  Unlike the Cut command, Copy may be used with graphics.


Cut command
Cut

Purpose

Moves the selected text in the active WAOL child window to the Windows Clipboard, removing the text from WAOL in the process.

Syntax

Cut

Parameters

This command has no parameters.

Comments

Related commands include Copy and Paste.


Paste command
Paste

Purpose

Inserts the text on the Windows Clipboard into the current text field in the active WAOL child window.

Syntax

Paste

Parameters

This command has no parameters.

Comments

The text may be placed on the clipboard by the Cut and Copy commands or by user clipboard operations.


CloseSessionLog command
CloseSessionLog

Purpose

Closes the WAOL session log.

Syntax

CloseSessionLog

Parameters

This command has no parameters.

Comments

The Session log is provided by WAOL and is not directly related to WTG.  The session log may be opened using the OpenSessionLog command.


OpenChatLog command
OpenChatLog

Purpose

Opens the WAOL chat log.

Syntax

OpenChatLog sFilename, nOptions

Parameters

sFilename	The filename of the file to be used for the chat log.  If no filename is specified, a file named CHAT.LOG will be saved in the currently selected directory.

nOptions	Determines how the log is to be handled if there is already a file named the same as sFileName (the above parameter).  The options are in the table below:

Action	Value
Overwrite Existing File	0
Append to Existing File	1

Comments

To close the chat log use the CloseChatLog command or manually close it using WAOL. The chat log is provided by WAOL and is not directly related to WTG.

Example

OpenChatLog "c:\waol\thechat.txt", 0

Opens a chat log named "c:\waol\thechat.txt", overwriting an existing file by the same name if it exists.


OpenSessionLog command
OpenSessionLog

Purpose

Opens the WAOL session log.

Syntax

OpenSessionLog sFilename, nOptions

Parameters

sFilename	The filename of the file to be used for the session log.  If no filename is specified, a file named SESSION.LOG will be saved in the currently selected directory.

nOptions	Determines how the log is to be handled if there is already a file named the same as sFilename (the above parameter).  The options are in the table below:

Action	Value
Overwrite Existing File	0
Append to Existing File	1

Comments

To close the session log use the CloseSessionLog command or manually close it using WAOL. The session log is provided by WAOL and is not directly related to WTG.

Example

OpenSessionLog "c:\waol\mybigses.txt", 0

Opens a session log named "c:\waol\thesess.txt", overwriting an existing file by the same name if it exists.


SelectListString command
SelectListString

Purpose

Selects the given list box item by specifying its text.  The highlight will fall upon the specified item after this command.  This is not the same as ClickListString, which performs a double click of a list box.

Syntax

SelectListString sItemText

Parameters

sItemText	The text of the item to click. It is case insensitive and does not need to be the complete text of the item, only enough to distinguish it from the other list box entries.  In the case of an ambiguity (where there is more than one possible match), the item closest to the top of the list will be selected.

Comments

This function is useful when a list box, button click combination is necessary.  First select the desired item using SelectListString  and then use ClickButton to initiate the action.   To select an item by specifying its position in the list rather than its text, use the SelectList command.

Example

SelectListString "About"

Selects the item in the list whose text starts with "About".


SendKeys command
SendKeys

Purpose

Sends one or more keystrokes to WAOL as if they had been entered at the keyboard.

Syntax

SendKeys sKeysToSend

Parameters

sKeysToSend	String representing the keys to send to the America Online window.  Refer to the comments section below for further information.

Comments

Each key is represented by one or more characters.  To specify a single keyboard character, use the character itself.  For example, to represent the letter A, use "A" for sKeysToSend.  If you want to represent more than one character, append each additional character to the one preceding it.  To represent the letters A, B, and C, use "ABC" for sKeysToSend.

The plus sign (+), caret (^), percent sign (%), tilde (~), and parentheses ( ) have special meanings to SendKeys.  To specify one of these characters, enclose it inside braces.  For example, to specify the plus sign, use {+}.  Brackets [ ] must also be enclosed in braces.  To send brace characters, use {{} and {}}.

To specify characters that aren't displayed when you press a key (such as Enter or Tab) and keys that represent actions rather than characters, use the codes shown below:

Key	Code	Key	Code

Backspace	{BACKSPACE} or {BS} or {BKSP}	Break	{BREAK}

Caps Lock	{CAPSLOCK}	Clear	{CLEAR}

Del	{DELETE} or {DEL}	Down Arrow	{DOWN}

End	{END}	Enter	{ENTER} or ~

Esc	{ESCAPE} or {ESC}	Help	{HELP}

Home	{HOME}	Ins	{INSERT}

Left Arrow	{LEFT}	Num Lock	{NUMLOCK}

Page Down	{PGDN}	Page Up	{PGUP}

Right Arrow	{RIGHT}	Scroll Lock	{SCROLLLOCK}

PrintScreen	{PRTSC}	Tab	{TAB}

Up Arrow	{UP}	F1	{F1}

F2	{F2}	F3	{F3}

F4	{F4}	F5	{F5}

F6	{F6}	F7	{F7}

F8	{F8}	F9	{F9}

F10	{F10}	F11	{F11}

F12	{F12}	F13	{F13}

F14	{F14}	F15	{F15}

F16	{F16}

To specify keys combined with any combination of Shift, Ctrl, and Alt keys, precede the regular key code with one or more of the

following codes:

Key	Code

Shift	+

Control	^

Alt	%

To specify that Shift, Ctrl, and/or Alt should be held down while several other keys are pressed, enclose the keys' code in parentheses.  For example, to have the Shift key held down while E and C are pressed, use "+(EC)".  To have Shift held down while E is pressed,

followed by C being pressed without Shift, use "+EC".  To specify repeating keys, use the form {key number};  you must put a space between key  and number.  For example, {LEFT 42} means press the Left Arrow key 42 times; {h 10} means press h 10 times.

Example

SendKeys "Type this{TAB}"

Makes WAOL act as if someone at the keyboard typed "Type this" and then pressed the Tab key.


Open Configuration Dialog

The Open Configuration Dialog is used to load a WTG configuration file.  Only one configuration file may be open at a time.

The Open dialog is displayed by clicking on the Setup button, then File|Open configuration menu item.

The list shows all of the configurations that are in the \WTG\CONFIGS directory.  If a configuration file is located in a different location on the system, it must be copied to the \WTG\CONFIGS directory to be opened.  For example, if a configuration was downloaded from another user it must be copied to the \WTG\CONFIGS directory.  When WTG saves a configuration it will save it in the correct directory so that it can be opened later.


New Configuration Dialog

The New Configuration Dialog is used to name the new configuration file that is being created.  New files are automatically saved in the \WTG\CONFIGS directory as they are created.

The New dialog is displayed by clicking on the Setup button, then File|New configuration menu item.

Filename Enter the name for the configuration here.  WTG configuration files have the extension .cfg although the extension cannot be used when entering the filename.

The list contains the names of existing configuration files.


Save Configuration Dialog

The Save Configuration Dialog allows a configuration file to be saved under a different name.  This is similar to copying the file to a different file name.  Immediately following the save, the files will be identical with the exception of their names.

The Save dialog is displayed by clicking on the Setup button, then File|Save configuration menu item.

Filename Enter the name for the configuration here.  WTG configuration files have the extension .cfg although the extension cannot be used when entering the filename.

The list contains the names of existing configuration files.


Delete Configuration Dialog

The Delete Configuration Dialog is used to remove a configuration file from the hard drive.  Ensure that the file being deleted is no longer desired.  Once the file has been deleted there is no command to recover it.

The Delete dialog is displayed by clicking on the Setup button, then File|Delete configuration menu item.

The list contains the names of all configuration files in the \WTG\CONFIGS directory, to delete configurations located elsewhere use the Windows File Manager.


Delete Macro Dialog

The Delete Macro Dialog is used to remove a macro from the hard drive.  Ensure that the file being deleted is no longer desired.  Once the file has been deleted there is no command to recover it.

The Delete dialog is displayed by clicking on the Setup button, then File|Delete macro menu item.

The list contains the names of all macro files in the \WTG\MACROS directory, to delete macros located elsewhere use the Windows File Manager.


List Manager

The List Manager handles Areas, People and Dictionary Terms all in a similar fashion.  Information specific to each type of information is located near the bottom of this topic.  The specific information is related to the actions that can be taken on each type of data.

The List Manager is displayed by clicking on the Setup button, then on the List Manager menu item.

General

Drop-down combobox (Unlabeled) Shows the current group of areas that is selected.

List box (Unlabeled) Displays all of the areas in the group selected in the combobox.

Text Display (Unlabeled, lower portion of List Manager window) Clicking on the arrow button displays the full text description of the selected item.

Group... Allows you to add(append to end of list), edit the name of, delete, or insert (at the current position) a group.

Item... Allows you to add(append to end of list), edit the name of, delete, or insert (at the current position) an item.

Close Hide the List Manager.

Areas Tab

Goto	Goes to the selected keyword(s).  If you are offline, WTG will log on to AOL.

Dictionary Tab

Send...(Displays popup menu)

Term Send the selected list item text to the AOL window.

Definition Send the information in the Text Display to the AOL window.

People Tab

Action...

Locate Locates the selected member(s) online.

E-Mail Opens a compose message window with the selected name(s) in the To field.

Send Instant Message Opens an instant message window with the selected member in the To field.  If multiple people are selected, multiple windows will be opened.

Get Profile Gets the current online member profile of the selected names(s).  The profile windows will remain displayed after this command is finished executing.


General Tab (Options Dialog)

The General Tab is used to configure the appearance of the button bar and other assorted items.

The Options dialog is displayed by clicking on the Setup button, and then on the Options menu item.

Toolbar Orientation The toolbar may be either horizontal or vertical.  If the toolbar is vertical, the timer text will appear turned on its side.

Button Size Determines how large each button is, either large or small.  Bitmaps to be used on the buttons can have a maximum size of 24 x 24 pixels, regardless of button size.  If the picture is too large to be displayed on the small button, it will be compressed to fit.  If the picture is smaller than the button size, then the picture will appear in the upper left corner of the button.  Large buttons are easier to see on high resolution screens with smaller monitors.  Small buttons are useful occupy a minimum amount of screen space.

Titlebar Alignment Determines the location of the titlebar.  The titlebar may be located on the top or the left of the WTG window.  The titlebar may be turned off to conserve screen space

ToolTips Determines whether or not a yellow help box is displayed over WTG and WAOL toolbar buttons.

Load WAOL Maximized Using this option forces the WAOL window to maximize when WTG executes it.

Timer The timer can be turned off, making it invisible.  This is useful in reducing the amount of screen space that WTG occupies.  The timer is still functional, however

Background Color The background color will appear behind the timer text.

Foreground Color The color of the timer text.

Time Format The time may be displayed in either 12 or 24 hour format.


Billing Tab (Options Dialog)

The Billing Tab contains settings for billing limits and billing amount information.

The Options dialog is displayed by clicking on the Setup button, and then on the Options menu item.

Account Type Choose the type of account for WTG to determine the hourly rate.  Most members use the regular plan.  Charter billing is used only by those who were some of the first to join America Online.  The charter rate is no longer available, all new members use the regular rate.

Billing Date The billing date is the day of the month that AOL bills on.  This is different for each member and is determined by the time of month that the member originally joined the America Online service.  This number is used by the time and billing manager to synchronize with the AOL bill of each member.  The billing date is available online in  the monthly AOL bill.

Free Minutes/Month The number of free minutes you receive each month.  This is usually 300 minutes.  If you need to make adjustments to WTG totals, see Adjusting Billing Manager Totals.

Screen Name This box contains all of the screen names of the members on the account that will be used with WTG.  If screen names are changed online then they must also be changed here so that WTG can enforce billing limits.

Session Limit The dollar amount to limit a single AOL session for each screen name to.  If a screen name exceeds the limit, the action is determined by other settings in this tab.

Monthly Limit The dollar amount to limit the entire month to for each screen name. If a screen name exceeds the limit, the action is determined by other settings in this tab.

Display Totals Window at Logoff This option instructs WTG to display a billing summary each time a member logs off AOL.

Auto Logoff When Billing Limit is reached  If enabled, WTG will remind a member that they have exceeded their session or monthly billing limit and ask if they wish to sign off.

Billing Alarm Sound This sound will be played whenever a billing limit, session or monthly, has been exceeded.


Global Tab (Options Dialog)

The Global Tab contains settings not contained in the current configuration; the settings apply to all configurations.

The Options dialog is displayed by clicking on the Setup button, and then on the Options menu item.

WAOL Directory The location of the WAOL executable and system files.  If WAOL is moved to another directory, this entry must also be changed.

Default Configuration This determines the configuration that will be loaded when WTG starts, if no configuration is passed on the command line.  If a command line configuration is present then it will override this option.  Selecting (none) will allow the configuration to be chosen from a dialog each time WTG is executed.


Toolbar Tab (Customize Dialog)

The Toolbar Tab is used to modify the commands for each of the buttons, and select the number of buttons to display.

The Toolbar tab of the Customize dialog is displayed by clicking the Setup button then the Edit Toolbar menu item.

Button This text displays the currently selected button which the items below apply to.  The selection can also be determined by the underline under the preview toolbar.  If you want to move or copy a button, see Changing the positions of buttons in the toolbar

Description This text will appear in a yellow popup window when the mouse is moved over the button.

Picture A list of pictures in the \WTG\GRAPHICS directory.  If you want to use a picture not in this directory, you must first copy the picture file to this directory.  The file must be a Windows Bitmap(BMP) file, cannot be larger than 24*24 and must contain only 16 colors.  If you want to create your own original picture, see Creating original custom graphics.

Command Select the action the button is to take from this drop down combo.

Number of Buttons to Display The number of buttons to display in the WTG toolbar window.  The results cannot be seen in the toolbar preview.  All buttons can be edited even if they will not be displayed.  A Maximum of 15 and a minimum of one button can be displayed.  Depending on button size and screen resolution, the WTG window may be too large to fit on the screen if all buttons are displayed.


Menus Tab (Customize Dialog)

The Menus Tab is used to create and modify menus to attach to buttons or shortcut keys.

The Menus tab of the Customize dialog is displayed by clicking the Setup button then the Edit Menus menu item.

Add Add a new menu to the list.

Change Modify the name of the selected menu.  To change the contents of the menu, use the Edit Menu button.

Delete Removes the current menu from the list, destroying the menu and all its items.

Edit Menu Initiates a dialog to modify the individual menu items within the selected menu.

Preview When this button is clicked, it displays a preview of what the selected menu will look like.

Menu Wizard Use the Menu Wizard to create a new menu easily by answering some simple questions.


Keyboard Tab (Customize Dialog)

The keyboard tab is used to assign shortcut keys to a specific command.  The shortcut is accessed using holding down F5 and a letter.

The Keyboard tab of the Customize dialog is displayed by clicking the Setup button then the Edit Keyboard menu item.

Shortcut Key Select a shortcut key to assign in this drop-down combobox.  This box contains the letters from A to Z.

Command Select a command to activate when the key combination displayed in the shortcut key box above (F5 + Letter) is pressed.


Menu Editor Dialog

The menu editor is a window where menus items can be created or modified.

To display the Menu Editor Dialog, click on the Setup button, then click on the Edit Menus item.  Next, click on the Edit menu button.  The dialog should now be displayed.

Title The text to be displayed on in the menu item when the menu is displayed.

Item Wizard Click this button to easily setup the menu item selected in the list below.

|,- (Pipe and dash buttons) These buttons will change the title so that the item will be a vertical(pipe) or horizontal(dash) separator item.

Command The action the button is to take.

Next Move the selection to the next menu item.

Add  Append a new item to the menu.

Insert Insert a new menu item at the current position.

Delete Remove the selected item(s) from the menu.

Preview When this button is clicked, it displays a preview of what the menu will look like.

Menu Wizard This command will allow you to use the Menu Wizard to make the current menu. The Menu wizard cannot be used to edit the menu, only create a new menu and replace or append to the current items(if any).


Run Macro Dialog

The Run Macro Dialog is used to run a WTG macro file.

The Run Macro dialog is displayed by clicking the Setup button, then the Macro|Run menu item.

The list shows all of the macros that are in the \WTG\MACROS directory.  If a macro is located in a different location in the system, it must be copied to the \WTG\MACROS directory to be run.  For example, if a macro was downloaded from another user it must be copied to the \WTG\MACROS directory.

To create a macro, use the Macro Editor.


Keyboard Commands

Although it is often preferable to use a pointing device such as a mouse or trackball to use WTG, sometimes it is useful to utilize keyboard access.  WTG has been designed so that total access is available to the user using only the keyboard.  WAOL itself is difficult to use without a pointing device, so a keyboard only system might be a last resort.

The following list includes all of the built-in keyboard shortcuts.  To define your own shortcuts for commands see Creating Keyboard shortcuts.  WTG must be active in order to access the F1-F4 keyboard shortcuts.

F1  Displays WTG Help

F2  Popup the Setup Button Menu

F3  Popup the Help Button Menu

F4  Displays the timer options menu

F5  Activate WTG window or access keyboard shortcuts

F10 or Alt Displays a highlight box on the user defined buttons. By using the arrow keys, you can select the button of your choice.  To "click" the button use the enter key or the space bar when the highlight box is over the correct button.  To remove the highlight without clicking any button, use the Escape key.

End Interrupts macro execution.


Setup Menu

The setup menu may be accessed by clicking on the Setup button.

File > Displays the file submenu

New Configuration...  Shows the New Configutation dialog asking for a name for the new configuration.

Open Configuration... Displays the open dialog to choose the configuration to load.

Save Configuration    Saves the configuration with its current name.

Save Configuration As.. Displays the Save as dialog, allowing you to save the current configuration under a new name.

Delete Configuration   Displays the Delete dialog where unwanted configurations may be deleted.

Configuration Wizard Displays the Configuration Wizard to help you construct your basic configuration.

Convert Configuration... Displays the converter dialog to import a WTG 1.2 or Sweetalk 1.2 configuration file.

Emergency Exit  Terminates WTG and WAOL if WAOL has locked the computer.

Macro > Displays the macro submenu

Edit Loads the Macro Editor to create a new macro or edit an old macro.

Run Displays the Run Macro dialog to select a macro to execute

Delete Displays the Delete Macro dialog to select a macro to delete

Offline Reader Loads the Offline Manager for message and E-Mail management.

Macro Editor Loads the Macro Editor to create a new macro or edit an old macro.

Time & Billing Manager Loads the Time and Billing manager to view your billing history.

List Manager Displays the List Manager.

Minimize WAOL Reduces WAOL to an icon, even while a file transfer is taking place.

Edit Toolbar... Changes the appearance and functionality of the WTG buttons through the customize dialog.

Edit Menus... Displays the customize dialog to edit, create, or delete menus.

Edit Keyboard...  Displays the customize dialog to edit the keyboard shortcuts.

Options Displays the options dialog to choose size, shape, colors, billing information and configuration file.

Exit Terminates WTG and WAOL.


Help Menu

The help menu may be accessed by clicking the help button.

Configuration Wizard Activates the Configuration Wizard to change the basic attributes of the toolbar and timer.

Contents Displays the contents of this help file.

Search... Allows a keyword search of this help file.

Product Support Displays the product support topic of this help file.

Registration Form Displays the order form for WTG.

Tutorial... Starts the WTG tutorial.

About Way To Go!... Displays the credits as well as system and registration information.


Timer Menu

The timer menu is displayed when you click on the face of the timer.

Current Tme  The time of day, as reported by your local system clock.

Time Online  The amount of time spent online during the current session.

Free Time  The amount of time spent in the free areas of AOL

Pay Time  The amount of time spent in the pay areas of AOL

Area Switch (Pay/Free) This option will change between the amount of time spent in free and pay areas depending where you are on AOL.  If you are in a pay area, it will display pay time and if you are in a free area it will display free time.

Money Spent  The money you have spent so far this session.

Session Status The current kind of area you are in(offline, pay, free).

Stopwatch The WTG stopwatch which can be used for custom timing needs.

Stopwatch Options >

Start Starts counting up from the current time.

Stop Stops counting and maintain the current time.

Reset Restarts the timer, stopping if it is running

Totals for this billing period Displays information about your current billing period.

Display All... Shows a window with all of your current session's billing information so that you can observe all of the numbers at one time.


Introduction and Overview

Welcome to Way To Go! Because you acquired this product you are most likely looking for ways to enhance your online experience.  AOL is relatively easy to use, however it is impossible using the WAOL software to automate your daily tasks.  WAOL limits your customization ability and prevents you from taking full advantage of your precious resources, time and money.

WTG is a customizable toolbar that you can use to make your most common actions only a mouse click away.  You have full control of all of your WTG buttons, you may specify what they look like and what they do.  They can even make a menu appear when they are clicked, giving each button the potential to provide a variety of services.  WTG can send chat sounds, send instant messages, locate all of your friends, and much more with the click of a button.  Although WTG's foundation is as a button bar, it has many more features to offer.

Keeping track of your online resources is a large task, and WTG can help you by storing information about them.  People, places, and of course common chat expressions are all things you are likely to use more than once.  WTG provides a List Manager where you can not only store this information, but also take action on it.  The people you enter information about can be located online, or you can send them mail or instant messages.

E-Mail and message boards are some of the areas which are the most obvious examples of places where money can be saved.  WTG provides the capability to download your messages and e-mail so that you can read them offline.  By using WTG's Offline Manager, more time can be spent reading the boards without being hurried.  Nobody wants to worry about money or tying up the phone line, so WTG gives you the freedom to read mail at your leisure.

Most users of AOL like to minimize the amount of money spent while getting the maximum benefit from the time and money they do spend.  In addition to providing services to make the time you spend online more enjoyable and productive, WTG provides tools to track your billing information.  WTG will keep a log of your billing history so that you will know the amount of money you have spent for the month.  This log stores detailed billing information on a per-screen name basis, including transitions between pay and free areas of AOL and the time of all transactions. This detailed data will help you to make more informed decisions about your spending habits.

Prism Elite Software encourages you to spend some time with WTG.  After evaluating the product, we hope that you will decide that WTG is a powerful tool that no WAOL user should be without.  Any feedback, positive or negative, is also encouraged.


What's New in Version 2.0

Users of version 1.x will be excited to learn that version 2 adds many of the most requested features from user feedback.  Although many new features have been added, throughout the design process usability was a primary concern.  Easy access to features is just as important as new power features.  The following list is a brief summary of the changes to WTG:

Configuration files are no longer text files that are modified using a editor.  WTG now provides a friendly user interface from within the program itself to modify all aspects of the configuration.  In fact, you should not attempt to modify them because they are now binary files and modifying them with a text editor may corrupt them.  While editing has become easier, there are many more options to fine tune the appearance and functionality of WTG.  For example, button pictures may now be customized and the size of the WTG window and buttons is adjustable.

The primitive billing information available in version 1.x has been greatly enhanced by the addition of a billing log to track spending by billing month.  Billing information about each screen name is separate and monthly totals are available.  The timer is still similar to version 1.x, but has been slightly enhanced.

Many of the people and place functions have been moved into a new module called the List Manager.  The List Manager can keep all of your friends names in groups for easy location or instant messaging.  The dictionary has also been moved to the List Manager.  You can still create menu items with the names of your friends or places, but the List Manager is more compact and flexible.

Offline message and E-Mail reading is now possible using the Offline Manager.

A script language is provided to make it possible to execute a series of commands.  While it is not a complete programming language, it is sufficient for constructing fairly powerful macros.  An editor with syntax assistance is provided.

As you may have noticed, WTG now provides a much greater depth of services than in the past.  Hopefully the new features will benefit all users, from power users to complete novices.


Converting from WTG 1.2 or other add-on
Converting from WTG 1.2 or other WAOL add-on products

Prism Elite Software understands that it takes time to get aquainted with your new software.  Additionally, you many have invested countless hours in a configuration for your current WAOL add-on product.  One of the best ways to both take advantage of your previous efforts and learn the new version is to convert your old file to WTG 2.0 configuration format.  After you have converted your work from the previous version, you can modify it using the new tools.  The converted file also provides a personalized example when you decide to create a new configuration on your own.  Either by modifying the converted configuration file or creating your own, you will be able to utilize the new features available only in version 2.

Currently, WTG can convert WTG 1.2 and Sweetalk 1.2 configuration files to WTG 2.0 files.  The buttons and menus will be much the same as they were in the original product.

To convert a configuration file to WTG 2.0 format:

1.  Click the Setup button and select File|Convert Configuration...

2.  Select the format of the file to be converted by choosing it in the combo box

3.  Locate the file to be converted using the file directory box

4.  Type the name for the converted file in the text box

5.  Click OK

Now you have a converted file to experiment with or use until you get a chance to investigate all of the new features in WTG 2.0.


Using Wizards to build your configuration
Using Wizards to build your new configuration

Wizards are very helpful when adding new commands to your configuration.  When defining a new button or creating a new menu, wizards will assist you.  To get a feel for the wizards you may want to try the Configuration Wizard that is available from the help menu.  Just click on the help button and select the Configuration Wizard  menu item.  There are other wizards to help you with many parts of setting up the toolbar and menus.  Each will assist you by providing easy access to customization options.  The wizard will ask you a series of questions, and at its conclusion will change the configuration for you.  Take advantage of the wizards until you are comfortable with editing options yourself.  After using the wizard, it is often useful to look at what it has changed so that you can learn from the wizard's work.  Not all features are available from the wizards, so remember that there is much more to explore that the wizard will not do for you.  The wizards will reduce the effort required to do common operations, and they are valuable for even the advanced user.


A brief note from the author

This is by no means a complete explanation of the shareware process or the WTG registration information, just a friendly request.  That information can be found elsewhere in the help file.  Many enjoyable and no so enjoyable hours were spent in the production of this software.  Prism Elite Software hopes that your experience with WTG is a positive one, and if it is we hope to receive a registration in support of future products and the shareware market in general.  If you are not convinced that WTG is adequate for your purposes after a reasonable trial period, please discontinue your use of the product.  In any case, your feedback is valuable.  If you love the product, we want to hear from you.  If you found the product to be somewhat less than enjoyable, we also want to know why you didn't like the product and what could be done to make it better.  Without monetary support and user feedback, WTG cannot continue to improve.  Enjoy!


Unistalling WTG
Uninstalling WTG

Should you decide to uninstall WTG, it is a very easy process.  Simply delete the \WTG directory and all of its subdirectories and files.  This can be accomplished using the File Manager or other file utility.  A list of files that WTG installed is located in the \WTG directory and is named SETUP.LOG.  The only remaining task is to remove the WTG icons and group from the Program Manager.  Minimize the Way To Go! group window in the Program Manager and press the delete key.  After these steps WTG will be uninstalled and no longer present on your system.

If you need further assistance with the Uninstall procedures contact Prism Elite Software Support.  Prism Elite Software would also like to hear any feedback you may have about WTG, even if it is negative.  Suggestions and observations will be taken into account during subsequent development of WTG.


Changing button size

Depending on your screen resolution, you may want to increase or decrease the size of the WTG toolbar buttons.  The WTG buttons can have one of two sizes, either small or large.  The button picture can be a maximum of 24 * 24 pixels which is the picture size of the large buttons.  If the button size is changed to small, then the pictures will be compressed to fit the smaller button.  Small pictures will not be stretched to fit larger buttons.

To change the button size:

1.  Click on the Setup button

2.  Click the Options.. menu item

3.  In the Options dialog on the general tab, change the button size box to large or small.

4.  Click the OK button to accept your change.


Changing title bar

The title bar for the WTG window can be placed in one of three positions: left, top, or none.  The title bar is invisible when none is selected.  Making the title bar invisible(by selecting none) can decrease the amount of screen space that WTG uses, but you lose the ability to move the window around the screen.

To change the title bar location:

1.  Click on the Setup button

2.  Click the Options... menu item

3.  In the Options dialog on the general tab, change the title bar alignment box to the desired setting.

4.  Click the OK button to accept changes


Changing toolbar orientation

The WTG window can either be horizontal or vertical.  Horizontal means that the window is wider than it is high, similarly Vertical means that the window is higher than it is wide.  If the window is vertically oriented then the numbers on the timer will be displayed sideways.

To change the toolbar orientation:

1.  Click on the Setup button

2.  Click the Options... menu item

3. In the Options dialog on the general tab, change the Toolbar Orientation box to the desired setting.

4.  Click the OK button to accept changes


Working with multiple configurations

WTG can be used with different configuration files for different family members or for special occasions.  Files can be opened in the file menu from the Setup button, but if you frequently use different configuration files it can be tedious to open a new file each time you use WTG.  WTG will allow you to choose a configuration when it starts.  If you use the same file most times you run WTG it can be automatically loaded when you start WTG.

To change the default configuration:

1.  Click on the Setup button

2.  Click the Options.. menu item

3.  Change to the Global Tab by clicking on it

4.  Change the default configuration box to the configuration that you want to be loaded every time WTG starts or change it to "(none)" if you want to choose the file to open each time you run WTG.

5.  Click the OK button to accept the changes.


Changing the visibility of the timer

The timer can display the time of day and other AOL session information.  If you do not want to use the timer, you can make it invisible.  The timer continues running to log your billing information, but you will not be able to see it.  Hiding the timer will save screen space and allow more buttons to be shown if you have a low resolution screen.

To show or hide the timer:

1.  Click on the Setup button

2.  Click the Options.. menu item

3.  The General Tab is now displayed.  To change the visible status of the timer, change the Timer check box.  To make the time invisible make sure the box is unchecked.

4.  Click on the OK button to accept the changes.


Changing the timer colors

The foreground and background colors of the timer are customizable.  You may want to change the colors to make the numbers more clear.  On a monochrome screen, black and white work well.  The Configuration Wizard also contains a variety of standard color combinations, if you don't want to choose the colors yourself.

To change the timer colors:

1.  Click on the Setup button

2.  Click the Options.. menu item

3.  The General tab is now displayed.  To change the foreground or background color of the timer, click on the respective colored box and a color dialog will appear.  Select the appropriate color and click OK.  The preview will give you an idea about how the color scheme will look.

4.  When you are satisfied with the results in the preview, click the OK button to accept changes.


Changing the information displayed on the timer

The WTG timer can display a wide variety of information about the time and money that have been spent during the current session.  The following is a list of the information the timer can display

Current time The time of day, as reported by your local system clock.

Time Online  The amount of time spent online during the current session.

Pay Time  The amount of time spent in the pay areas of AOL

Free Time  The amount of time spent in the free areas of AOL.

Area Switch (Pay/Free) This option will change between the amount of time spent in free and pay areas depending where you are on AOL.  If you are in a pay area, it will display pay time and if you are in a free area it will display free time.

Money Spent  The money you have sent so far this session.

Stopwatch The WTG stopwatch which can be used for custom timing needs.

To change what information is displayed on the timer:

1.  Click on the timer and a menu will appear.

2.  Choose the information you want WTG to display from the menu by clicking the appropriate menu item.


Creating original custom graphics

WTG comes with a collection of button pictures that you might want to use on your buttons, but if you need a special picture that is not included you may wish to make your own.  WTG does not provide a bitmap editor to make pictures, but the Windows paintbrush program that ships with every copy of Windows can be used.

To create a custom picture:

1.  Open the Paintbrush Applet included with Windows or your favorite bitmap editor.

2.  Open the \WTG\GRAPHICS\BLANK.BMP file.

3.  Add your own design to the bitmap using your bitmap editor.  Edit the bitmap using a 16 color mode of the editor program.  WTG can run in 256 color(or higher) mode but the buttons cannot use more than 16 colors.

4.  Before saving make certain that the image size for the saved image will be no larger than [24 * 24] pixels and that the number of colors in the bitmap is 16.

5.  Save the picture with a new filename in the \WTG\GRAPHICS directory, using the Save As.. menu item.

The custom button picture will now be available in the picture list in the Customize dialog.


Creating toolbar buttons and changing button information

Each button on the WTG toolbar may be customized to have a particular appearance and function.  The description, picture, and command may all be adjusted to meet your needs.  When editing a button, there are two methods to assign appearance and function to a button.  The first is to use the ToolButton wizard, which will assist you by creating a button with a common function after you answer a few questions.  The other option is to enter values directly into the customize dialog.  This gives more flexibility and power because you have better control over all aspects of the button.

To edit a toolbar button:

1.  Click on the Setup button

2.  Click on the Edit Toolbar... menu item

3.  Select the button you wish to edit.  Either click on the button in the dialog or use the < and > buttons in the dialog to highlight the correct button.

4.  Click on the ToolButton wizard button.  You will be guided through the process by the Wizard. -OR-  If you do not want to use the Wizard, you can enter a button description, select a picture from the list and choose a function from the command list.  The command may need you to provide options, if it does it will display a Edit Command Options... button.  Click on that button to provide additional information.

5.  Repeat steps 3 and 4 for other buttons, if desired.

6.  Make sure that your buttons will be visible by checking the Number of Buttons to Display field at the bottom of the dialog.

7.  Click on the OK button to accept the changes to the buttons.


Changing the positions of buttons in the toolbar

After a certain period of use, you may find that your button arrangement needs to be refined.  Instead of changing all of the information on the buttons, you can drag and drop the buttons into the new positions.  This allows you to rearrange the buttons in a more efficient way.

To move the buttons into position:

1.  Click on the Setup button

2.  Click on the Edit Toolbar... menu item

3.  Before you start dragging, decide if you want to exchange the button with the one it is dropped on or if you want to overwrite the destination and leave the source the same. If you want to replace the destination button, hold down the Control key. With the right mouse button, click and hold on the button you want to move.  Drag the button to its new position and release the mouse button.

4.  Click on the OK button to accept the changes you made.


Creating toolbar shortcuts
Creating keyboard shortcuts

The Toolbar buttons and menus are a convenient way to issue commands to AOL with the mouse, but if you want to keep your hands on the keyboard then you may want to investigate WTG shortcut keys.  Most actions that can be performed through the buttons or menus can also be achieved using the keyboard.

Note: To access keyboard shortcuts in WTG, you must hold down F5 + a Letter.

To assign a keyboard shortcut:

1.  Click on the Setup button

2.  Click on the Edit Keyboard... menu item

3.  Change the Shortcut Key box to the letter of the alphabet you want to assign to a function.  Notice that all keyboard shortcuts are accessed by holding down F5 + a Letter of your choosing

4.  In the command box, choose the command that you want to execute when the shortcut chosen above is pressed.  You may need to provide additional information by pressing a button to edit the command options.  The options depend upon the function which you have selected.

5.  Click the OK button to accept the changes.


Making and modifying menus

Menus can be assigned to a button or a keystroke.  Each menu item on a menu can carry out a distinct function.  You can create and edit a menu separately from the item that makes it appear.  For example, the same menu can be called from a keystroke and a button.  If you edit this menu by adding a new item, all of your changes will appear both when you click on the button to call the menu and when you press the keyboard shortcut.

To make or modify a menu:

1.  Click on the Setup button

2.  Click on the Edit Menus... menu item

3.  Use the buttons to the right of the list to perform the necessary editing functions.  For more detailed help click on the help button in the dialog.  You may also choose to use the Menu Wizard which creates common types of menus.  To use the Menu Wizard, just click on the Menu Wizard Button.

4.  Click on the OK button to accept the changes.


Minimizing WAOL

WAOL does not allow you to minimize or move the main window while a file transfer is taking place.  WTG allows you to reduce the window to its iconic state even when a file is being transferred.  To restore the window to its former state, just double click on the icon.

To minimize WAOL:

1.  Click on the Setup button.

2.  Click the Minimize WAOL menu item.


WTG Glossary

AOL

bitmap

BMP

button

case insensitive

checkbox

child window

configuration file

dialog

dictionary

edit field

help button

list box

List Manager

macro

maximized

member profile

minimized

Offline Manager

option button

parameter

picture button

pipe character

preview

profile

push button

registration

screen name

Setup button

shareware

shortcut keys

system sound

tab

text box/text window

Time and Billing Manager

timer

title bar

toolbar

WAOL

WAV

wizard

WTG

WTG Buttons


AOL

America Online.


bitmap

A specific kind of picture file.  A bitmap normally has the BMP file extension.


BMP

The file extension for a bitmap file.


button

Like its real world counterpart, you push it to do something.  There are many different kinds of buttons.  WTG has buttons that you can customize.  WAOL has a series of buttons called the FlashBar.  Windows also contains picture buttons and text buttons.


case insensitive

If a string, such as a WTG command parameter, is case insensitive then there no difference between an upper case letter and a lower case letter.


checkbox

An input device used to represent a yes/no or true/false option.


child window

A window that is said to have a parent.  This child-parent relationship refers to the fact that a child window is contained within the parent.  In WAOL, the parent window is the main window and the many windows inside it are considered children.


configuration file

A file used to store user preferences and information for WTG.  WTG will save and load this file each time you run it so that all of your information will remain between sessions.


dialog

A window to use for the input of information, usually a group of related information.  The dialog is between you the user and the program.  You communicate your preferences during this dialog.


dictionary

The WTG dictionary is a place where you can store a list of shorthand terms and look them up if you are unsure about the meaning of a certain online term.


edit field

A place to enter text.  It is usually contained within another window.  There may be more than one edit field within a particular window.


help button

The center for the online help system in WTG.  Click on this button to display the help menu which will show your help options.


list box

A window where a list of related information is stored.  The list box may have a scroll bar to scroll through more list entries than can be displayed on one screen.


List Manager

This is a WTG feature that allows you to keep lists of people, places and dictionary terms.  This information can then be acted upon, for example you can go to a keyword you have stored in the List Manager.


macro

A group of commands that are ordered to accomplish a task.  A WTG macro could sign on to the AOL system, download your new E-Mail and then logoff.


maximized

A window is maximized if it has been enlarged to its maximum possible size.  The main WAOL window in maximized when it fills the entire screen.


member profile

The AOL system allows each screen name to keep a short group of facts containing information provided by the member.


minimized

A window is minimized when it is in the iconic state.


Offline Manager

The part of WTG that allows you to read you messages and E-Mail offline.


option button

An input device used to make a choice from a group of items.


parameter

A piece of information that may be passed to a command or macro to provide it with more information.


picture button

A button that has a graphical picture on the front.  There is often a text caption somewhere near the button that identifies its purpose, if the picture is not clear.


pipe character ( | )

The pipe character is the "vertical line" character. Its ASCII value is 124.


preview

A view that allows you to inspect the appearance of a visual change before accepting the change and applying it.


push button

A special type of button, usually contains text or graphics and is similar to a real world push button.


registration

WTG is a shareware product.  This means that the author gives you the right to try the product before you purchase it.  When you purchase a piece of shareware, you are registering it.


screen name

A screen name is a name that AOL members use while they are online.  It may or may not relate to their actual name.


Setup button

One of the most important buttons in WTG.  By pressing this button you can change the  appearance of the toolbar, load and save configurations, minimize WAOL, and exit WTG.  The picture looks like a computer.


shareware

Shareware is a method of software distribution.  The author gives you the opportunity to try the software before you buy it so that you are sure you want or need it.  After you have evaluated it, you should either stop using the software or send in the registration.


shortcut keys

WTG allows you to assign a key combination to a command.  WTG's shortcuts are always  Control + a letter.


system sound

Windows supports system sounds that occur when certain events occur.  You must have a sound card or a speaker driver on you system to hear the system sounds.


tab

A particular part of a dialog which groups related options.  It is similar in appearance to a file folder tab.  Many of WTG's dialogs contain more than one tab.


text box/text window

Another name for an edit field.  It contains text information that can be read or edited.


Time and Billing Manager

The portion of WTG that will allow you to study your billing information in detail, including a particular session and graphs.


timer

The text display in the main WTG window that shows information about the current session or the time of day.  It also works with the Time and Billing Manager to record all of your billing information.


title bar

The portion of a window that is used to move it with the mouse.  Although it often contains text describing the window it is attached to, WTG's title bar is smaller than normal and contains no text.


toolbar

A collection of buttons, each button being a tool.  WTG contains a toolbar and so does WAOL.


WAOL

America Online for Windows.  This is the specific client software that is designed for the Windows environment.


WAV

A type of sound file used in windows.  WAV is also the file extension used to describe such a file.


wizard

An assistance tool that allows you to construct a menu, button or configuration more easily and rapidly.


WTG

Way To Go!


WTG Buttons

The buttons that are in the WTG window.  These include the setup and help buttons and the user configurable buttons.


Disclaimer

If you do not agree to the below terms, discontinue your use of Way To Go and remove it from your computer.

America Online does not officially authorize Way To Go! or any other third party product.  Way To Go! is not endorsed by America Online. AOL does not provide any guarantee for WTG!.  AOL provides no direct technical support for WTG! or any other add-on product.  Questions and comments should be sent to Prism Elite Software support.

The WTG Billing Manager is not an official billing system, and is not viewed by AOL or Prism Elite Software as such.  Although Prism Elite Software has worked hard to ensure that it is accurate,  the user assumes the responsibility when using the Billing Manager.  AOL does not view Billing Manager logs as grounds for refund or credit.

Users of Way To Go! (herein referred to as WTG!) must accept this disclaimer of warranty by:

WTG! IS SUPPLIED AS IS.  THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND OF FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.  TIM HILL AND PRISM ELITE SOFTWARE ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES, DIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL, WHICH MAY RESULT FROM THE USE OF WTG!.

WTG! is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation, for 30 days.  Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system.  The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products.  If you find this program useful and find that you are  using WTG! and continue to use WTG! after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment of $25 to Prism Elite Software.  The $25 registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time.  You must treat this software just like a book.  An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another.  Just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time.

Commercial users of WTG! must register and pay for their copies of WTG! within 30 days of use or their license is withdrawn.  Site-License arrangements may be made by contacting Prism Elite Software.

You are encouraged to pass a shareware copy of WTG! along to your friends for evaluation.  Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it.  All registered users will receive a copy of the latest version of WTG!.


Support

If you have a comment or question please feel free to contact Prism Elite Software.  The author provides his own support so you get help directly from the source.  Before contacting Prism Elite Software  with a question you may want to look through this help file, as it contains answers to many of the most common questions.  Prism Elite Software provides online support through the following channels:

America Online Screen Name:

PrismElite

America Online Support Boards:

(The support for WTG is provided by Prism Elite Software, not America Online)

FREE AREA Support:

Members Helping Members (keyword MHM) Add-Ons/Windows AOL Shareware topic

PAY AREA Support

Windows Forum (keyword WINDOWS) Shareware/Way To Go! Support topic

Internet Address:

PrismElite@aol.com

US Mail Address:

Prism Elite Software

1322 Brookton Court

Indianapolis, IN 46260-3368

Your comments are very valuable to Prism Elite Software, so please don't hesitate to contact us.


What is Shareware?

This topic is a general definition of shareware.  For information specific to WTG see License Agreement and Registration Information and Policies.

Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual.

Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware.

Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it.


Registration Information and Policies

Prism Elite Software respectfully asks that you use WTG for a 30 day trial period to evaluate it.  If you decide to continue using the software then please register it.  If you decide that the software is not worth registering, please discontinue use of the product and remove it from your system.

When you register you will receive the following:

The feeling that you have supported the shareware process

A personalized key file for WTG sent via E-mail

All registration screens are removed in the registered version

Minor Updates (2.1, 2.2, etc.) for free

Major Upgrades (2.0, 3.0, 4.0, etc.) for a reasonable price

Access to additional WTG toolbar bitmaps, macros, and other samples

Announcements and news about WTG and other Prism Elite Software products.

To register simply fill in and mail the order form with your check to Prism Elite Software.


Registration Form
Order Form - To Print go to the File menu and select Print Topic

Way To Go! 2.0a Registration Form

Date: 	____/____/____

Name:	________________________________________

Company: 	________________________________________

Address:	________________________________________

City:	______________________ State: ____  Zip Code: _________

Screen Name _________________ (REQUIRED)

Check one only please:

[    ] Regular Deal - $25

[    ] SeniorNet Deal (include photocopy of SeniorNet membership card) - $20

[    ] Upgrade from WTG 1.x (for $15 registered users) - $10

(please contact Prism Elite Sotware if you are interested in a site license)

Please Grade WTG using the following scale in the areas below:

Additional comments on the sections below are also appreciated.

Great!  A(+-), B(+-), C(+-), D(+-), F(+-)  Terrible!, or N/A

___ Setup Program	___ Main Program

___ Offline Manager	___ Time & Billing Manager

___ Macro Editor	___ Help File/Documentation

___ Support	___ Overall

Where or from who on America Online did you hear about WTG?

Comments:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: PLEASE MAKE ALL CHECKS AND MONEY ORDERS PAYABLE TO TIM HILL.  ORDERS MADE OUT TO PRISM ELITE SOFTWARE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.  Address Registration to:

Prism Elite Software

1322 Brookton CT.

Indianapolis, IN 46260

Or send check/money order made out to Tim Hill to the the above address and send order form to PrismElite on America Online (please include screen name with check to ensure that the registered version can be quickly sent).


Macro Editor Menus

Some menus may not be available while no macro document is open.  The Window menu has been omitted because it is similar to other Windows applications, for more information see the Windows User Guide.

File

New  Creates a new untitled macro.

Open... Opens an existing macro in the \WTG\MACROS directory.

Close  Closes the current macro.

Save  Saves the current macro file in the \WTG\MACROS directory.

Save As... Saves the current macro under a different name in the \WTG\MACROS directory.

Print Sends the macro to the printer.

Exit Closes the Macro Editor.

Edit

Cut Copies the selection to the clipboard and then deletes the selection.

Copy Copies the selection to the clipboard.

Paste Inserts the text on the clipboard at the current location, replacing any selection.

Delete Deletes the selection.

Select All Selects the entire contents of the current macro window.

Edit Command...  Activates the Edit Macro dialog for syntax assistance.

Insert Standard Comments  Inserts a common form of comments.

Help

Contents  Displays the Macro Editor Help Contents.

Search For Help On... Starts a keyword search of the entire WTG help file.

About Macro Editor... Shows the credits for the Macro Editor.


Using Syntax Assistance

Before you start writing your own macros, you should understand how WTG itself works.  It is also helpful, but not required, that you know the commands that WTG provides.  However, that doesn't mean that you need to be a expert to create a macro.

To get some assistance first decide what it is you want to do in the macro.  You will then need to think of the steps necessary to make it work.  Each of these steps corresponds to a macro command, your job is to pick the right command and provide it with the information it needs to do that step.  Once you understand how to take a step then you can begin to arrange each step in order so that you can walk to your overall objective.

WTG gives you some help with choosing the correct command.  This help file contains two lists of commands, one in alphabetical order and the other grouped by category.  Using these lists, you can browse the options.  In addition, the Macro Editor has a tool that will make writing macros much simpler.  This feature is called Edit Command.  You can click the Edit Command menu item, the toolbar button or just press F2 and Macro Editor will present you with the Edit Command Window.  In this window, you choose a command and fill the parameters (the information the command needs to function) into the template provided.  If you don't understand a parameter or command, just press the Command Help button and you will be shown the help screen for that command.

Once you have filled the template, click on OK and WTG will insert text into the editor window.  You can then move to the next command or go to a previous line and edit the command.  With the syntax assistance in WTG you can easily write macros.  Once you are finished writing the macro, just save it and go to WTG and run it.

Just remember that macros may not work out the first time so be prepared to fall down a couple times while you learn to walk.


Time and Billing Manager Menus

Some menu items may not be available if no billing file is open. The Window menu has been omitted because it is similar to other Windows applications, for more information see the Windows User Guide.

File

Open Billing Year...  Opens a billing file.  WTG billing files are created once per year so you should not need to open your billing file often.

Close  Closes the current billing file.

Print Billing Period  Print out the billing information  for the entire month.

Print Current Display  Print the data currently displayed in the billing window.

Exit  Terminates the Time and Billing Manager

Edit

Copy  Copies the current selection in the list in the lower half of the billing window to the clipboard.

Select All  Selects the entire contents of the billing data list box.

View

By Day  Displays the billing data a day at a time.

By Session  Displays the data one session at a time.

Totals  Displays the billing period totals.

Help

Contents  Displays the Time and Billing Manager Help information.

Search For Help On...  Starts a keyword search of the entire WTG Help file.

About Time & Billing Manager...  Displays the credits for the Time and Billing manager.


Using the Billing Information Window

The viewer window will display one year of your personal billing information.  This window is you source for comprehensive billing information.  All of the data will be displayed in the list box in the lower portion of the window.  The upper section of the window contains various filters which you use to observe a specific section of the data.  The following list explains the various options available in this window.

Billing period  This list uses the billing date that you gave WTG to establish your billing month.  You may choose from the list which month to view.

Display You may display the information By Day or By Session.  You may also display the totals for the month.

Day/Session Depending on your display setting, this box will show the currently displayed range and allow you to select from the available range choices.

Screen Name Choose a specific screen name to view or choose to view data for all Screen Names.

Print Billing Period  Prints the entire billing period By Day or Session according to the Display field.

Print Prints the current data displayed in the lower portion of the window.

If you select the totals option for the Display filed you will have the following graphing options:

Graph Year  Creates a graph showing usage per screen name based on the entire year.

Graph Period Creates a graph window based on the current billing month.  This graph shows percentage time or money spent for each screen name.


Adjusting Billing Manager Totals

You can adjust the WTG Billing Manager to match your current AOL Monthly Billing Summary by changing WTG's Free Minutes.   You can also make adjustments for any credits received during a billing period or credits carried over from a previous billing period.

The first time you start using WTG, there is a very good chance you will be in the middle of a billing period, and you will need to make an initial adjustment to let WTG properly track how many free minutes you have remaining.  The first thing you need to do is get the information from the AOL Current Months Billing Summary.

To retrieve this information:

1.	Log on to America Online.

2. 	Press Control+K and enter "Billing" as a keyword.

3. 	From the list that appears, select "Current Month's Billing Summary".

4. 	Record the following information:

CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE

FREE MINUTES remaining

CREDITED MINUTES remaining

FREE DOLLARS remaining

CREDITED DOLLARS remaining

Note: If any of these fields are zero or blank, then you do not need to record them.  In addition, it is important to sign on and off quickly without doing anything else.

5.	Log off America Online.

To calculate your adjustment value:

1.	Add the FREE MINUTES remaining and the CREDITED MINUTES remaining together.  (If you do not have any, move on to step 2)

2. 	Convert the Billing Summary FREE and CREDITED DOLLARS REMAINING amounts to minutes, and add to the adjustment value (If you do not have any, move on to step 3).  To convert to minutes, add the FREE DOLLARS and CREDIT DOLLARS and divide by your Billing Rate Per Minute:

(Billing Rate Per Minute = Billing Rate Per Hour / 60)

Regular Account ($3.50 / 60) = 0.058

Charter Members ($2.80 / 60) = 0.047

3. 	If you have been using WTG, retrieve the Total Pay Time from the Billing Manager's Totals option, convert it to minutes, and add it to the adjustment value.

The following is a condensed version of the above information:

+ Free Minutes

+ Credit Minutes

+ (Credit Dollars + Free Dollars) / Rate per Minute

+ WTG Pay Minutes

=	Adjustment Value

Use this adjustment value to set your WTG Billing "Free Minutes" value. To set this, click on the WTG Setup button (the computer button), choose the "Options..." menu item, select the "Billing" tab, and enter the adjustment value from above into the Free Minutes field.

If your AOL Current Month's Billing Summary already shows a CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE, you will have to manually adjust the amounts displayed by WTG until the end of the current billing period.  This CURRENT BALANCE will be your Balance Adjustment value until the end of the current billing period, so write it down in a safe place so you can remember it.  You simply add this value to the WTG Total from the Billing Manager's Total option, and that should match your current AOL Current Month's Billing Summary.

If you receive any Credits during a billing period, you can enter the adjustment to WTG by simply ADDING the credited minutes to WTG's Free Minutes.   (convert credited $ to minutes as required)

At the beginning of each Billing Period, you may need to adjust WTGs Free Minutes to allow it to properly report the free minutes remaining the same as the AOL Current Month's Billing Summary.  If you had made any adjustments during the previous billing period, or you have any carry-over credits, then you will need to make the adjustment as described above.

Note: If you edit Free Minutes for one month, other months will also be affected by that free minute value.


Offline Manager Menus

Self-explanatory menus have been removed from this description.  Some menus may not be available if a message folder is not open. The Window menu has been omitted because it is similar to other Windows applications, for more information see the Windows User Guide.

File

Message Forum...  Opens a selected message forum to view.

Retrieve Messages...  Downloads messages from AOL.

Exit  Terminates the Offline Manager.

Edit

Copy  Copies the selected text to the clipboard.

Select All  Selects the entire contents of the current text box.

Folder

Previous Moves to the first message of the previous folder

Next Moves to the first message of the next folder

Message

Previous Moves the the previous message in the current folder

Next Moves the the next message in the current folder

Tools

Edit Message Forums...  Defines the forums to download.

Help

Contents  Displays help about the Offline Manager.

Search For Help On...  Search the entire WTG help file.

About Offline Manager...  Displays the credits for the Offline Manager.


Defining Forums

Before WTG can retrieve messages from your favorite forum, it must know how to navigate AOL to get to the forum.  WTG comes with many forums already defined, but if yours is not you must define it.  Once you define a forum you can use the definition each time you go to get messages.

To define a forum, just click on the Edit Forum Database item in the Tools menu or the Edit Forums button on the message forums window.  WTG will then display a list of forums that are already defined.  Be sure to check this list before creating your own definition, it will save you the trouble of defining your own forum definition.  Note the buttons to the right of the list, they allow you to edit an existing forum or add a new forum to the list.  Prism Elite Software may provide updates to the defined forums that you can import with the import button.

When you are ready to define your new forum, click on the Add button.  A new dialog appears to accept all of the characteristics of the new forum.

Forums

Title

Enter a short title of the forum you wish to visit.  This does not need to be the official title of the forum.  It will be used to identify the messages when you are viewing them.

Keyword

Enter the keyword of the forum you want to visit.  This is the word or words you must enter when you wish to go to the main area of the forum you want to retrieve messages from.  You can find keywords for the different areas available online by choosing the WAOL Members menu and selecting Search Directory of Services.

Route

The route text contains instructions or a path to get from the main area of a forum to the part of the forum where the message board is located.  Each instruction is separated by a pipe character or | , which can be accessed by pressing Shift-Backslash (\) on most keyboards. First, goto the forum with the keyword you specified in the Keyword field above.  Then, for each step or instruction on the route to the main message board, perform the following:

1. Look for the text of the button you want to click, or the item in the list/menu you want to double click.  By default, WTG searches for list items with the text you specify before searching for button text.  If you need to reverse this search order, add a "@" symbol to the beginning of the step on the route.  Record this information and add it to your route.

Note #1: If the title of a button is on more than one line, specify only the first line.

Note #2: If a button cannot be accessed by specifying text, specify the # character, and the button's number in the tab order (the order in which the buttons are accessed through the keyboard).  For example, a route of  "#1" would click the first button that has the focus when a new AOL window is displayed.

2. If there is another step in order to reach the message board, add the pipe character | to the end of the route, and repeat step 1 again.  You are finished entering the route when a "List New" or "Find New" button is visible in the active AOL window AND a LIST of topics, folders, or messages is displayed.

Threading

Choose this option if the board you want to read has Threading capability, which is a feature that allows you to respond directly to a message rather than just simply adding a message to the end of the folder.  Threading is usually indicated by a "Post Response" button in a message window. If you are unsure if your forum is threaded, ask the forum leader or another member in the forum.

Topics and Folders

A common question in configuring a forum definition in WTG is the difference between Topics and Folders.  Due to the many varieties and appearances of America Online Message boards, it is often hard to decide what is a topic and what is a folder.

 If there are items with slashes (/) in a message list, the portion before the slash is a Topic, and the portion after the slash is the Folder (for example, in "Shareware Support/Way To Go! Support", "Shareware Support" is the Topic and "Way To Go! Support" is the Folder.)

 If there are items without slashes, the entire text of each item is a Topic.

 Topics are often more general than folders, and folders are usually specific message areas that relate to Topic they are under

To add Topics, press the Add button under Topics and enter a title for each topic you wish to add. To add Folders, choose the "Folders Titled:" option and press the Add button under Folders  and enter a title for each folder you wish to add.

Note #1: It is recommended that you enter partial text for Topics and Folders, as they can sometimes be displayed in AOL in an abbreviated form (for example, the topic "Windows Communications" might be displayed as "Windows Communicati/America Online" - so you may want to enter "Windows Comm")

Note #2: Some topics may have a slash in their titles but the entire title can still be a Topic.  For example "Add-ons/Windows AOL Shareware" is a topic, because other Topics in the same list do not have slashes.

Newsgroups

To define an Internet Newsgroup, the following information should be entered in the fields:

Title - Description of the Newsgroup (this does not have to be it's official name).

Keyword - Newsgroups

Route - Read My|name.of.newsgroup

"Read My" plus the name of the newsgroup as it is displayed on America Online by accessing the newsgroups manually.  This name may or may not be the official title of the actual internet group.   For example, if you wanted to read a newsgroup about the game Doom, you would specify "Read My|alt.games.doom".  Note: This is subject to change in the future should the design of the AOL Newsgroups area change.

Threaded - No

Topics and Folders - (none)

Click OK to accept the changes to the forum definition, then click OK again to accept the changes to the forum list.

Once you complete the above steps, your forum is defined and can be used to retrieve your messages.


Retrieving Messages

WTG will automatically retrieve your messages when you tell it which forums you want to download.

Before beginning the message retrieve process be certain that your password is stored for the screen name you intend to use during sign on, or it will have to be entered manually.  You should also disable the Network News so that the retrieve option will not be interrupted.  For more information about these steps see Offline Manager Help in the Important Notes section.

The other important thing to know about downloading messages is that the Offline Manager downloads the new messages only.  This is the behavior that is normally desired, to get the unread messages on the board.  But if you have never read messages in a particular board before, or have not read them for a long period of time, you may want to log on manually and update your message pointers by looking at you new messages.  If you do not take this step, your initial mail file will be large and take a long time to transfer.   Once the read pointers are set, you can use the Offline Manager to download your messages, which are small and quick to transfer.

First select the appropriate screen name in the screen name box in the Offline Manager.  To begin the retrieve definition process, click on the Retrieve Messages button in the Message Forums window.  The Retrieve dialog is now displayed.

There are two kinds of messages for WTG to retrieve, E-Mail and forum messages.  To download your E-Mail, check the Retrieve Unread E-Mail button in the lower left portion of the dialog.  Note that if there are any files attached to your E-Mail, WTG will place them in your AOL Download Manager so that you can retrieve them later.  To download forum messages, check the box in the upper left of the dialog and select which forums to download.  Select the forum from the Available Topics box.  A list of topics within the forum will appear.  Then add any desired topics to the Selected Topics for download list using the Add button.  You can download both E-Mail and forum messages or only one type of message if you prefer.

The only other option is to sign off after transferring the messages.  This option is selected using the check box in the lower left of the dialog.  If you do not log off, WTG will enter the free area.

When you have chosen all of your preferred options, click on the Start button to begin the transfer.  WTG will use the screen name that you chose before clicking the Retrieve Messages button to sign on to AOL (if you are not already logged on), then get your unread mail and forum messages.  Offline Manager will display the message headers as it downloads.  If you chose the Sign Off after Transfer option, you will be signed off following the message transfer.  At the conclusion of its message retrieval, Offline Manager will inform you that it is done.

You are now ready to view your messages.


Viewing Messages

Viewing your messages is the easiest part of the offline process.  This is especially true since you will be able to take your time to read all of the messages, knowing that you do not need to spend money online to do it.

Choose the screen name that you downloaded you messages to.  To view your messages choose a forum from the Message Forums window list.  There may be more than one from a particular forum if you have downloaded more than one time from the forum.  You can determine the appropriate forum by looking at the date and time.  Double click on the list item or click the Open button to show the topics that were downloaded.

You will see a list of the folders and a list of messages within that folder.  Unread (within Offline Manager) messages and folders are marked with a greater than symbol (">").  Select a message and double click on it or click the Open button.

A message window will appear with the message and header information.  The following are descriptions of the buttons available to you:

<<	Moves to the first message of the previous folder

Prev 	Moves to the previous message in the current folder

Next	Moves to the next message in the current folder

>>	Moves to the first message of the next folder

More	If there are messages in the current folder, it moves to the next message.  If there are no messages in the current folder, it moves on to the next folder if available.  This button allows you to move easily through all of the messages in the forum.

Save as Text	Saves the current message as a separate text file.  If the file already exists, the message can optionally be appended to the file.

Print	Sends the the current message to the printer